Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Invests $1.35 Million in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,350,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $352,000. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 91,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,838,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock opened at $52.89 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.48 and a 1 year high of $149.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of -27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.31 and its 200-day moving average is $76.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % 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.

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.