The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lowered its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 759 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,720,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,982 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,271 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 132.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,735,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,901,000 after purchasing an additional 988,829 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $95,085,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $69,047,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock traded down $2.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $144.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,634,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,631,164. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.76 billion, a PE ratio of 111.22, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.07. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.22 and a twelve month high of $250.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.84 and its 200 day moving average is $138.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 3.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 203.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.