Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 403 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,107 shares of the company’s stock after selling 403 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $65.42 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $155.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $72.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.14.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on EL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.