The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 884 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of EL stock opened at $67.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $155.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.91.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.