UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases 43,619 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 35.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 167,597 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,619 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $12,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $66.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.34, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $155.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the topic of several analyst reports. CICC Research started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.