Bailard Inc. Sells 461 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on EL. Barclays raised their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.17.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $147.45 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.86 and a 200 day moving average of $138.22. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.22 and a 52 week high of $250.63. The company has a market cap of $52.86 billion, a PE ratio of 113.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.07. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently 203.08%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.