American Century Companies Inc. Raises Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 11,026.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,343,607 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,313,557 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.93% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $250,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th 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 period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on 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. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. 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 research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.0 %

EL traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.79. 1,131,382 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,745,012. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $155.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released 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. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

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.