Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Grows Position in NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) by 120.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,264 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $2,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,675,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of NewMarket during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,548,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NewMarket by 151.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,416,000 after buying an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NewMarket in the 3rd quarter worth $2,321,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in NewMarket by 221.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,205,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NewMarket

In other news, Director Ting Xu bought 400 shares of NewMarket stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $619.21 per share, with a total value of $247,684.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,246.09. This trade represents a 75.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 19.10% of the stock is currently 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 research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Trading Up 0.2%

NewMarket stock opened at $622.18 on Wednesday. NewMarket Corporation has a 1 year low of $510.07 and a 1 year high of $875.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $658.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $738.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.50.

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

NewMarket Announces Dividend

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

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.