Level Four Advisory Services LLC Has $1.09 Million Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 31.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,578 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EL. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $352,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $65.42 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.02 and its 200-day moving average is $77.14. The company has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $155.73.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.