B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 80.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,917 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 5.2% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 108,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,606,000 after buying an additional 5,303 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,521,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,476,000 after buying an additional 137,546 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 14,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total value of $1,670,107.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the transaction, 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 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last ninety days. 12.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $164.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.75.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of EL stock opened at $113.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a PE ratio of 63.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.04. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $198.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

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.