12,000 Shares in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Bought by Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd

Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,000. Estée Lauder Companies comprises about 0.6% of Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.36.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $19.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.37. The company had a trading volume of 11,754,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,761,945. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $146.90 and its 200-day moving average is $138.33. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.22 and a 12-month high of $246.48.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. 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.