Norges Bank Makes New Investment in NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Norges Bank purchased a new position in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 94,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,654,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in NewMarket in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NewMarket by 125.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of NewMarket by 100.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the third quarter worth $52,000. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of NewMarket from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NewMarket has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

NewMarket Stock Performance

NEU opened at $789.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $688.73 and a 200 day moving average of $683.94. NewMarket Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $580.03 and a fifty-two week high of $875.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.55.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $12.62 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $669.72 million during the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 24.12%.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.41%.

NewMarket Profile

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.