Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,834 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,984 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $352,000. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 91,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,838,000 after acquiring an additional 4,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.38. 4,869,750 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,058,607. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $64.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

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.