114,495 Shares in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Acquired by Centre Asset Management LLC

Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,585,000. Estée Lauder Companies comprises about 2.0% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,314,000 after buying an additional 913,470 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,587,000 after purchasing an additional 70,307 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after buying an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL traded down $1.77 on Friday, hitting $72.21. The stock had a trading volume of 437,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,544. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.82.

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.