DNB Asset Management AS Buys 132,584 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) by 251.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,235 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132,584 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $45,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EL. United Bank raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 78.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 17,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,833,000 after buying an additional 7,797 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth $1,147,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. 55.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $234.56. 2,149,782 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,091,635. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.47 and a 52 week high of $289.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $83.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.98.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.25. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 27th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Societe Generale raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $294.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $274.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $290.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.46.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Jennifer Hyman sold 5,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.88, for a total transaction of $1,396,849.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $266,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $1,912,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 118,931 shares in the company, valued at $33,300,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jennifer Hyman sold 5,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.88, for a total value of $1,396,849.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $266,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,511 shares of company stock worth $8,943,120 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.75% of the company’s stock.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc engages in the manufacture of skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. It sells products under the following brand names: Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda and Too Faced. Its channels consist of department stores, multi-brand retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies, and prestige salons and spas.