Algert Global LLC Trims Stake in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Algert Global LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,015 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,318 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Element Solutions were worth $2,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,244,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $565,685,000 after purchasing an additional 249,280 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,209,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,468,000 after acquiring an additional 209,441 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Element Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,555,852 shares of the company's stock worth $90,456,000 after acquiring an additional 14,339 shares during the period. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,174,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,727,000 after purchasing an additional 325,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,921,021 shares of the company's stock worth $74,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,602 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,847,510. This represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Trading Up 0.8 %

ESI opened at $20.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.90 and a 200 day moving average of $25.01. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Element Solutions Inc has a 12 month low of $16.77 and a 12 month high of $29.78. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $593.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.73 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Element Solutions's payout ratio is 26.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ESI shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.38.

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.

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