Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Purchases Shares of 1,208 NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,208 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $830,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NEU. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in NewMarket by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 235 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NewMarket by 5.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in NewMarket by 0.9% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 125.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,622 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded NewMarket from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

NewMarket Trading Down 0.1%

NEU stock opened at $783.37 on Thursday. NewMarket Corporation has a twelve month low of $580.03 and a twelve month high of $875.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $681.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $683.11.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $12.62 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 24.12%. The company had revenue of $669.72 million for the quarter.

NewMarket Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. NewMarket’s payout ratio is presently 27.41%.

NewMarket Company Profile

NewMarket Corporation is a specialty chemicals and lubricants company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its Valvoline business, the company markets a broad portfolio of automotive aftermarket products, including engine oils, transmission fluids, greases and vehicle care solutions. Valvoline products are distributed through retail and commercial channels as well as a network of quick-lube service centers that provide oil changes, preventive maintenance and related services.

In its chemical additives segment, NewMarket develops, manufactures and sells performance additives for fuels, lubricants and industrial fluids.