1,917 Shares in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Bought by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,626,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,692,479,000 after buying an additional 140,488 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,271 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,483,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,085,000 after purchasing an additional 254,198 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $537,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,982 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,080,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,265,000 after purchasing an additional 51,039 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $11.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $135.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,123,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,408. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $246.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.90 and a 200 day moving average of $138.33. The company has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a PE ratio of 104.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 3.08%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently 203.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.17.

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.