Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $119,000 in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth $37,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth $39,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at about $52,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $144.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,324,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,137,922. The company has a market capitalization of $51.77 billion, a PE ratio of 111.07, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.08.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.