Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,720,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,982 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,730,000 after buying an additional 1,387,271 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 132.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,735,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,901,000 after acquiring an additional 988,829 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,085,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,047,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE EL traded down $1.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.38. 1,354,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,793,628. The company has a market capitalization of $46.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.22 and a twelve month high of $207.44.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Seventeen 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.92.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.