Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,126 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,445 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 108.2% during the second quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 25,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after buying an additional 13,135 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 14.3% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth about $83,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 23.4% during the second quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 17,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.1% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 1,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 55.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $267.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.21. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.47 and a fifty-two week high of $331.15.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 41.46%. Analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 30th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 29th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Estée Lauder Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EL. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $224.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $313.00 to $287.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. Redburn Partners began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, December 15th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $324.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.35.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers a range of skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, cleansing devices, 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.