Navalign LLC Decreases Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Navalign LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,375 shares of the company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the period. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 1,088,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,255,000 after acquiring an additional 140,855 shares during the period. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 3,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 148,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,668,000 after purchasing an additional 87,880 shares during the period. Finally, B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 11,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.63.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL traded up $9.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $154.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,844,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,812,423. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.35. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $260.46. The company has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.42, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.33. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 203.08%.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.