JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Reduces Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd reduced its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 395,444 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,052 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $29,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE EL opened at $61.00 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.37 and a 52 week high of $139.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.65. 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 market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of -31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 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 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -57.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.20.

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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.