Principal Securities Inc. Cuts Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Principal Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 681 shares of the company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased 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 buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL opened at $73.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.60 and a 200-day moving average of $80.57.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty equities 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.