FORA Capital LLC Decreases Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

FORA Capital LLC reduced its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 91.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,830 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90,052 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. CastleKnight Management LP purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,372,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 3,449 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 117.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $299,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

EL opened at $61.00 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.37 and a 1 year high of $139.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.77. 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 company has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of -31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -57.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.20.

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.