American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 28,417 Shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU - Free Report) by 147.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,417 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.50% of NewMarket worth $25,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,647,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in NewMarket by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 1,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 735 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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NewMarket Price Performance

Shares of NewMarket stock traded down $8.51 on Thursday, hitting $557.76. 45,014 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $537.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $533.34. NewMarket Co. has a 52 week low of $480.00 and a 52 week high of $626.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.41.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 35.48%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from NewMarket's previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. NewMarket's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded NewMarket from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

NewMarket Company 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.