GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $147.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $52.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.36. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.22 and a 52 week high of $250.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.25.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.17.

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