Nuance Investments LLC Buys 2,033,188 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 192.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,092,268 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,033,188 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies accounts for about 9.4% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned about 0.86% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $231,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Wealth Services grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction 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 represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EL shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $66.07 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.66 and its 200 day moving average is $77.50. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $155.73. The stock has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.88, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

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.