Gotham Asset Management LLC Sells 31,940 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Gotham Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,252 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,940 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL traded up $0.18 on Monday, hitting $65.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,740,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,093,593. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.51, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.37 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is -57.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.