GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,850 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,002,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at about $1,621,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 25.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,863,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $199,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on EL shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.50.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $74.11 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.30. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.34, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.02. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

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.