The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 8,283.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 238,920 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 236,070 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.07% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $15,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 278.2% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 658 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.15.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.6%

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $68.56 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.16, a PEG 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 $122.40. The company's fifty day moving average price is $60.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.96.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently -57.85%.

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.

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