The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lowered its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,580 shares of the company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 29.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 5,025 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,773 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 61.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3.9% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 48,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,970,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,197,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,803,298. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $207.44. The company has a market cap of $46.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EL. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target 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. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.