Strs Ohio Lowers Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Strs Ohio reduced its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,551 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned 0.05% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $28,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EL. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 78.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 17,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,833,000 after acquiring an additional 7,797 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,147,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $137.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.56, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 203.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, 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. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

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.