Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) by 253.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,349,862 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,684,994 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Element Solutions were worth $59,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESI. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 9.6% in the third quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,722,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,864,000 after acquiring an additional 413,834 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its position in Element Solutions by 61.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 4,656,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777,265 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 3.0% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,426,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,414,000 after buying an additional 129,590 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,738,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,699,000 after buying an additional 14,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Element Solutions by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,509,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,485,000 after acquiring an additional 287,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ESI shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In related news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $984,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 117,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,122,653.80. The trade was a 23.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $7,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 306,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,285,760. This trade represents a 48.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE:ESI opened at $29.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.00. Element Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.77 and a 1-year high of $30.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 4.05 and a quick ratio of 3.28.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 32.32%.

Element Solutions Profile

Element Solutions Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies highly engineered chemistries to performance-driven end markets. The company’s solutions serve customers across the electronics, energy, transportation, consumer and industrial sectors, with a particular emphasis on electronics chemicals, metal plating, and industrial coatings additives.

In the electronics market, Element Solutions provides a range of plating and surface-treatment chemistries used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and advanced display technologies.