Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 33,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,544,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $352,000. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $568,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $450,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $82.33 on Thursday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The firm has a market cap of $29.55 billion, a PE ratio of 147.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.95.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.