Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 5,147 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,147 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EL. Peterson Wealth Services increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th 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. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $71.91 on Thursday. 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 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.25 and a 200-day moving average of $79.89.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EL shares. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

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