Formidable Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Formidable Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,091 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,406,000 after buying an additional 8,930,011 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $554,509,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $251,304,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,704,000 after buying an additional 3,313,557 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,984,000 after buying an additional 3,278,632 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.20.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $63.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of -32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $127.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.80.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 2.20%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -57.85%.

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.