NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) Position Boosted by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,039 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.23% of NewMarket worth $11,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of NewMarket by 51.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 675 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in NewMarket by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in NewMarket by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,839 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in NewMarket by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 30,524 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,846,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in NewMarket in the third quarter valued at about $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

NewMarket Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:NEU traded up $5.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $564.28. The stock had a trading volume of 34,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,597. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $548.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $533.12. NewMarket Co. has a 1-year low of $480.00 and a 1-year high of $596.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 earnings per share 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from NewMarket's previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. NewMarket's payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

About NewMarket

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.