Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,273 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL traded up $1.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.37. 6,344,045 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,047,691. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.37 and a 1 year high of $149.91. The company has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.64.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.57.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.