The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Position Increased by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 675,340 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,840 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $50,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,994,000 after acquiring an additional 982,183 shares during the period. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,580,000 after acquiring an additional 972,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE EL opened at $72.20 on Wednesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.33. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on EL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value 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 $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.