CENTRAL TRUST Co Decreases Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 731 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EL. Vigilant Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 280.0% in the third quarter. Vigilant Capital Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at $33,000. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 450.0% in the second quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 286.0% in the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 4,220.0% in the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 55.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $236.80 on Thursday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.47 and a 12-month high of $289.59. The company has a market capitalization of $84.59 billion, a PE ratio of 57.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $257.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.29.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.25. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 27th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $290.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $224.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $215.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, EVP Carl P. Haney sold 9,741 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total transaction of $2,473,239.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,211,864.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 6,831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $1,912,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 118,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,300,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Carl P. Haney sold 9,741 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total transaction of $2,473,239.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,211,864.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,120 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.75% of the company’s stock.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc engages in the manufacture of skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. It sells products under the following brand names: Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda and Too Faced. Its channels consist of department stores, multi-brand retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies, and prestige salons and spas.