Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Invests $2.14 Million in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 83,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,135,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESI. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 2,100,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,425,000 after buying an additional 100,672 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,244,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,685,000 after acquiring an additional 249,280 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 597.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 119,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,029,000 after acquiring an additional 102,022 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ESI opened at $24.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions Inc has a twelve month low of $23.10 and a twelve month high of $29.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.33.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The business had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. As a group, research analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ESI. StockNews.com cut shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial began coverage on Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.14.

Element Solutions Company Profile

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products.