Man Group plc Sells 395,169 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Man Group plc trimmed its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 39.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 616,188 shares of the company's stock after selling 395,169 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned about 0.17% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $46,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EL shares. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.20.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,447,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,094,979. The company has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.43, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.84. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The company's revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is -57.85%.

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.