AXQ Capital LP Makes New $294,000 Investment in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 557 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in NewMarket by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,656,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in NewMarket by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in NewMarket by 1.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,917,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of NewMarket by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 357 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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NewMarket Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NEU traded up $3.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $558.06. 45,790 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,693. The stock's 50-day moving average is $530.22 and its 200-day moving average is $533.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.75. NewMarket Co. has a fifty-two week low of $480.00 and a fifty-two week high of $638.21. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.41.

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

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $2.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from NewMarket's previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. NewMarket's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

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.