Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 361,957 The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 361,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,140,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Estée Lauder Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Stock Down 2.3 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $65.42 on Monday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $155.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of -33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.09.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

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.