Mirova US LLC Trims Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mirova US LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 674,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,479 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies comprises 1.5% of Mirova US LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Mirova US LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $98,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.8% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 78.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 17,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,833,000 after purchasing an additional 7,797 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter worth about $1,147,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 27.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $136.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,178,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,172. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $102.22 and a one year high of $260.46. The firm has a market cap of $49.09 billion, a PE ratio of 105.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $179.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.00.

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