Truist Financial Corp Sells 27,940 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 47.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,940 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $4,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,720,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,982 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,271 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 132.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,735,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,901,000 after buying an additional 988,829 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,085,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $69,047,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $132.94 on Monday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $209.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a PE ratio of 74.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $145.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.15.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on EL. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.92.

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.