S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lessened its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,753 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,813 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies comprises approximately 2.8% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $8,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 9,427 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,000. Finally, Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,544,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EL. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.15.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $68.74 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $125.90. The stock has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.25, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -57.85%.

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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.