The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by NS Partners Ltd

NS Partners Ltd trimmed its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,414 shares during the quarter. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $9,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in 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 buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $73.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.60, 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.16 and a 200 day moving average of $79.69. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its 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 company 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 for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty equities research 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was 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 link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.