Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) by 232.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $3,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 27.8% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 262,148 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $181,108,000 after purchasing an additional 57,101 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in NewMarket by 269.4% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 6,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,824,000 after buying an additional 5,092 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in NewMarket by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in NewMarket by 65.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in shares of NewMarket by 6.5% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 1,939 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

NewMarket Stock Down 0.1%

NewMarket stock opened at $740.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.66. NewMarket Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $480.00 and a fifty-two week high of $875.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $790.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $739.98.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $10.67 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 32.25% and a net margin of 17.28%.The company had revenue of $690.31 million for the quarter.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $3.00 dividend. This is a positive change from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. NewMarket’s payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NEU shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NewMarket in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NewMarket from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Company Profile

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.