Comerica Bank Lowers Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Comerica Bank lessened its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,614 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,340 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EL. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company's stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Washington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $352,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,129,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE EL traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,802,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,072,939. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.33 and its 200 day moving average is $69.65. 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 has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.28, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.37 and a twelve month high of $139.34.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. Estée Lauder Companies's quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is -57.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Nineteen 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.20.

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.