Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 97.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 341,737 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 4.4 %

NYSE:EL opened at $66.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a PE ratio of -34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.13.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

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.