LifePlan Financial LLC Invests $418,000 in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EL. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at $32,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on EL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $1.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $137.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,778,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,677,537. The company has a market capitalization of $49.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.11. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.22 and a 52 week high of $260.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 3.08%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently 203.08%.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.