Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 269,138 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 39.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 413,891 shares of the company’s stock after selling 269,138 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.12% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $29,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $352,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $65.42 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.09. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $155.73. The firm has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of -33.55, a PEG 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.

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. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

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.