The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. trimmed its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,494 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 3,608,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,538,000 after buying an additional 385,677 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. CastleKnight Management LP purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,372,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 117.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $65.40 on Tuesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.37 and a 52 week high of $139.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.36. The company has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.54, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -57.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.20.

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