LGT Group Foundation Sells 29,736 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

LGT Group Foundation lowered its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,261 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,736 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $5,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:EL traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.19. 2,716,131 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,783,594. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.23. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.74 billion, a PE ratio of 73.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.92.

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.