ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 14,007 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,408 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,007 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock worth $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company's stock worth $1,078,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930,011 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,858,158 shares of the company's stock worth $589,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458,379 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $554,509,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company's stock worth $410,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,278,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $63.75. 2,534,024 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,107,628. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.80. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of -32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.37 and a fifty-two week high of $127.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm's revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -57.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Estée Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.20.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.