Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New $2.14 Million Investment in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 83,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,135,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 2,100,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,425,000 after buying an additional 100,672 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Element Solutions by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,244,795 shares of the company's stock worth $565,685,000 after buying an additional 249,280 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Element Solutions by 597.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 119,105 shares of the company's stock worth $3,029,000 after buying an additional 102,022 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Trading Down 2.7 %

ESI traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.96. 2,691,842 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,691,909. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions Inc has a 12-month low of $22.71 and a 12-month high of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.67 and a 200 day moving average of $26.31.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the business'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 value of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.14.

About Element Solutions

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.