Centre Asset Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,585,000. Estée Lauder Companies makes up approximately 2.0% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $1,002,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,621,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.4 %

EL traded down $1.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,544. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.95, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $73.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.47.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. 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 250.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. CICC Research began coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % 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 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.