Blueshift Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 19,367 The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 19,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EL. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 10,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,816 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $523,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,293,000 after acquiring an additional 9,819 shares during the period. Finally, Terra Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of EL opened at $67.68 on Thursday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $155.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated 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. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.