Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $4.77 Million Stock Holdings in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of NewMarket worth $4,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEU. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,268,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in NewMarket by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,417 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in NewMarket in the 4th quarter valued at $8,933,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in NewMarket by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 91,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,542,000 after purchasing an additional 15,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of NewMarket by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 66,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,545,000 after buying an additional 15,129 shares in the last quarter. 61.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NewMarket Price Performance

NEU opened at $563.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $544.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $532.48. NewMarket Co. has a one year low of $480.00 and a one year high of $598.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.44.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 35.48% and a net margin of 16.59%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

About NewMarket

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.