Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Sells 6,723 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd reduced its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,723 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 60.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 21.1% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 11.9% in the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 29.2% in the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 9,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on EL. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $148.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.22 and a twelve month high of $255.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.19 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date 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.