Royce & Associates LP Reduces Position in NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $9,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NEU. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in NewMarket by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NewMarket by 5.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in NewMarket by 6.5% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 328 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in NewMarket by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of NewMarket by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,966,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NewMarket Trading Up 0.9%

NEU opened at $631.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.50. NewMarket Corporation has a one year low of $510.07 and a one year high of $875.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $666.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $743.52.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 25.38% and a net margin of 15.37%.The company had revenue of $635.40 million during the quarter.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. NewMarket’s payout ratio is 27.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ting Xu bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $619.21 per share, with a total value of $247,684.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,246.09. This represents a 75.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 19.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded NewMarket from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

About NewMarket

NewMarket Corporation is a specialty chemicals and lubricants company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its Valvoline business, the company markets a broad portfolio of automotive aftermarket products, including engine oils, transmission fluids, greases and vehicle care solutions. Valvoline products are distributed through retail and commercial channels as well as a network of quick-lube service centers that provide oil changes, preventive maintenance and related services.

In its chemical additives segment, NewMarket develops, manufactures and sells performance additives for fuels, lubricants and industrial fluids.