Nuance Investments LLC Has $231.86 Million Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 192.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,092,268 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,033,188 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies makes up approximately 9.4% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $231,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $66.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of -33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 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 $155.73.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The business 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%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.