Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,094 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,642 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESI. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 47.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,403,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,706 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,719,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,756 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 4.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,232,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,154,000 after acquiring an additional 798,662 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter worth about $11,872,000. Finally, Albar Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter worth about $7,812,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 11,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $269,212.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,327,947.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 11,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $269,212.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,327,947.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $1,430,674.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 704,395 shares in the company, valued at $16,341,964. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 97,203 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,110 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESI. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.60.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ESI stock opened at $23.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 3.24. Element Solutions Inc has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $25.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.32.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.06% and a return on equity of 13.51%. The firm had revenue of $573.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Element Solutions 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.