The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL Stock Position Trimmed by Hillman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Hillman Capital Management cut its Estee Lauder stake by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,885 shares and leaving it with 54,803 shares valued at about $5.74 million.
• Other major institutional investors, including Vanguard, State Street, Schroder Investment Management, and Bank of New York Mellon, increased their holdings, while institutions and hedge funds still own 55.15% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $100.65, while Estee Lauder also recently beat quarterly EPS expectations and maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share.

Hillman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,803 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,885 shares during the quarter. Estee Lauder Companies accounts for 3.6% of Hillman Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Hillman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $5,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,952,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,927,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,746 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,585,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,213,263,000 after purchasing an additional 467,195 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 185.3% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,140,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,596,000 after purchasing an additional 5,286,875 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,497,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,308,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $658,020,000 after purchasing an additional 331,530 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on EL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.65.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL opened at $87.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -125.38, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.26. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.22 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.12 and a 200 day moving average of $94.53.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.69 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 20.66% and a negative net margin of 1.67%.Estee Lauder Companies's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.430 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

Estée Lauder Companies Inc NYSE: EL is a global leader in prestige beauty that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder, the company has grown from a small family business into a multinational consumer-products enterprise headquartered in New York City. Its activities span product research and development, brand and product marketing, manufacturing and global distribution across multiple retail channels.

The company's portfolio includes a mix of legacy and prestige brands that target different consumer segments and price points, with well-known names such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer and Jo Malone among others.

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