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

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 551 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $261,000. Rovin Capital UT ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 18,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 707,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,040,000 after purchasing an additional 60,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $113,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $146.73. 3,754,501 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,653,601. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.33. The firm has a market cap of $52.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.07. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.22 and a 1-year high of $250.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 203.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.17.

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.