Wesleyan Assurance Society Reduces Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Wesleyan Assurance Society reduced its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EL. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.20.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $65.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.37 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.