Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Sells 514 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lowered its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 514 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded up $2.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $147.08. The stock had a trading volume of 988,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,653,420. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $52.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.22 and a 52 week high of $255.80.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 203.08%.

Estée Lauder Companies Profile

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.