New York State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stock Position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of NewMarket worth $5,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NewMarket during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NewMarket during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NewMarket during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new position in NewMarket during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in NewMarket during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 4th.

NewMarket Stock Performance

Shares of NEU stock opened at $592.74 on Friday. NewMarket Co. has a one year low of $362.16 and a one year high of $650.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $615.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $552.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.45.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 41.33%. The company had revenue of $643.35 million during the quarter.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $2.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $10.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

NewMarket 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.