HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Makes New $458,000 Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE EL opened at $110.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $130.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.34. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $201.56. The company has a market cap of $39.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.24, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.04.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at $6,958,990.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bernstein Bank boosted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.75.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.