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

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 57.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,850 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 752.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $74.11 on Wednesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.72 and its 200-day moving average is $87.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. HSBC lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.50.

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