Sentry Investment Management LLC Acquires 5,540 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 548.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,551 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,540 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 982,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,580,000 after purchasing an additional 972,799 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $75.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.77. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.