Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 48.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,250 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,827 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Celanese were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Celanese by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 122,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $21,011,000 after buying an additional 15,643 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Celanese by 447.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,781 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Celanese by 41.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 128,423 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,071,000 after purchasing an additional 37,577 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Celanese by 264.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,441 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,342,000 after purchasing an additional 14,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Celanese during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,442,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Celanese from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Celanese from $167.00 to $163.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total value of $605,459.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,033,840.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Celanese Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:CE traded down $1.16 on Friday, hitting $124.81. The stock had a trading volume of 935,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,232. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Celanese Co. has a 52 week low of $114.05 and a 52 week high of $172.16. The business's fifty day moving average is $129.74 and its 200 day moving average is $138.70. The company has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.30.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.76 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 18.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 10.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Celanese's payout ratio is 15.94%.

Celanese Company Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.