Welch & Forbes LLC Has $358,000 Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 29.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 5,025 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,773 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 3.9% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 48,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,970,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

EL stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,354,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,793,628. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $145.20 and a 200 day moving average of $138.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $207.44. The company has a market capitalization of $46.02 billion, a PE ratio of 72.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EL shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bernstein Bank increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.92.

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