Washington Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE EL traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.51. 3,042,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,890,302. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a PE ratio of 149.13, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.95.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price 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 restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.