Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 269,138 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 39.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 413,891 shares of the company's stock after selling 269,138 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $29,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,054,314,000 after buying an additional 913,470 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,630,000 after acquiring an additional 954,493 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company's stock worth $464,587,000 after acquiring an additional 70,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company's stock worth $250,704,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 9.1 %

EL stock traded down $5.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,908,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,900,554. The company has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.52 and a 12 month high of $149.91. The business's 50 day moving average price is $70.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.