Ieq Capital LLC Sells 1,577 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,577 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EL shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $74.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

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.