Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its holdings in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,444 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of NewMarket worth $4,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NEU. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in NewMarket by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of NewMarket by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in NewMarket by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 1,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in NewMarket by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in NewMarket by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 48 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Bruce R. Hazelgrove III sold 311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total transaction of $199,795.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,989.94. The trade was a 46.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 19.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

NewMarket Stock Performance

Shares of NEU stock opened at $639.67 on Monday. NewMarket Co. has a 52-week low of $480.00 and a 52-week high of $653.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $586.50 and its 200 day moving average is $549.24. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $13.26 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $700.95 million during the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 35.48% and a net margin of 16.59%.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. NewMarket’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.