Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Celanese worth $8,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Celanese by 92.6% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of Celanese by 180.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Celanese by 83.7% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Celanese during the third quarter worth $32,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Celanese from $150.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.22.

Celanese Price Performance

CE stock opened at $164.70 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.36. Celanese Co. has a 12-month low of $99.33 and a 12-month high of $172.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $156.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.00.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Celanese’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 11.5 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.64%.

Celanese Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.