Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 4,476 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,476 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $5,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 4.6 %

EL stock opened at $75.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54. The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.51, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.74 and its 200 day moving average is $80.77.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. B. Riley reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.