United Advisor Group LLC Makes New Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 278.2% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE EL opened at $63.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $48.37 and a one year high of $127.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.80.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -57.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on EL. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.20.

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