Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 116,250 Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,918,577 shares of the company's stock after selling 116,250 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.79% of Element Solutions worth $48,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP lifted its position in Element Solutions by 162.7% during the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 2,470,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,607 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 549.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company's stock worth $43,983,000 after buying an additional 1,369,981 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,169,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,573,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,316,244 shares of the company's stock worth $33,472,000 after acquiring an additional 510,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a "hold" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp began coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.00.

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Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESI traded down $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.24. The stock had a trading volume of 4,671,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,428. The business's 50 day moving average price is $25.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.16. Element Solutions Inc has a 1 year low of $17.72 and a 1 year high of $29.78. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. Research analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 31.37%.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Element Solutions Company 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.