DnB Asset Management AS Reduces Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

DnB Asset Management AS decreased its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 88.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352,052 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $251,304,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313,557 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 192.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,092,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,858,000 after buying an additional 2,033,188 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,971,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,807,000 after buying an additional 1,330,840 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. CICC Research started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:EL opened at $66.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a PE ratio of -33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.96. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $155.73.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -71.79%.

Estée Lauder Companies Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.