Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Stake in NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.32% of NewMarket worth $21,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NEU. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 45.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 718 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 185.2% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 9.2% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 8,610 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 4.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the first quarter valued at $257,000. 61.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of NewMarket in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NewMarket from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Stock Performance

NEU stock opened at $765.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $807.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $720.82. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.45. NewMarket Corporation has a 1-year low of $480.00 and a 1-year high of $875.97.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $10.67 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $690.31 million during the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 32.25% and a net margin of 17.28%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This is a boost from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.80%.

NewMarket Profile

NewMarket Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and sale of petroleum additives. The company offers lubricant additives for use in various vehicle and industrial applications, including engine oils, transmission fluids, off-road powertrain and hydraulic systems, gear oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and other applications where metal-to-metal moving parts are utilized; engine oil additives designed for passenger cars, motorcycles, on and off-road heavy duty commercial equipment, locomotives, and engines in ocean-going vessels; driveline additives designed for products, such as transmission fluids, axle fluids, and off-road powertrain fluids; and industrial additives designed for products for industrial applications consisting of hydraulic fluids, grease, industrial gear fluids, and industrial specialty applications, such as turbine oils.