Quent Capital LLC Purchases 484 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 278.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 658 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,943,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,385,000. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 308.0% in the fourth quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 29,224 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock opened at $69.72 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a PE ratio of -35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,801,318. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective 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. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.