American Assets Inc. Purchases New Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,000. Estée Lauder Companies comprises approximately 0.1% of American Assets Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company's stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 41,773 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EL. UBS Group increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Twenty investment 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.00.

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Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $73.32 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.54. The firm has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of -37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.61.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

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.

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