Sapient Capital LLC Invests $550,000 in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 11.3% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 517.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 46,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after buying an additional 39,082 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $819,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 221.9% during the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 62,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,075,000 after acquiring an additional 43,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. YCG LLC now owns 178,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,068,000 after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.92.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of EL opened at $132.94 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.22 and a 52 week high of $209.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

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.