Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,484 The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 517.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 46,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after acquiring an additional 39,082 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $819,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 221.9% during the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 62,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,075,000 after purchasing an additional 43,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. YCG LLC now owns 178,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,068,000 after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $129.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.76, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $209.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $145.20 and its 200-day moving average is $138.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.92.

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.