City Holding Co. Buys 105 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

City Holding Co. raised its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,785 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EL. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EL shares. Bank of America raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.75.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EL traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $115.09. 169,161 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,766,273. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.04. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.22 and a twelve month high of $198.86.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 148.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. 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. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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