New York Life Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

New York Life Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Koppers were worth $506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Koppers by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 45,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 95,869 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Koppers by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,931 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Koppers by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Koppers by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,465 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Singular Research upgraded Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.50 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In other news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total value of $267,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 323,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,288,010.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 3,488 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.61, for a total transaction of $186,991.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,981,908.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total value of $267,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 323,080 shares in the company, valued at $17,288,010.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,591 shares of company stock worth $1,700,094 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KOP opened at $43.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.89. The company has a market capitalization of $922.20 million, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.86. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.45 and a 12-month high of $58.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $497.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.00 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.59% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.89%.

Koppers Company Profile

Koppers Holdings Inc provides treated wood products, wood preservation chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States, Australasia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS), Performance Chemicals (PC), and Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) segments.