Capital World Investors Boosts Stock Holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Capital World Investors boosted its position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,783,935 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 142,295 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 1.15% of Element Solutions worth $70,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 610.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,910 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ESI traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.24. 2,366,590 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,927,451. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. Element Solutions Inc has a twelve month low of $16.77 and a twelve month high of $29.78. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.32.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $593.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $576.73 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised shares of Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $29.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.38.

Element Solutions Profile

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products.