SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,531 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EL. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.71.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of EL opened at $145.05 on Thursday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.22 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The company has a market capitalization of $52.00 billion, a PE ratio of 110.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.30. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.33. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 3.08%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders 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 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.08%.

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.