Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) EVP Sells $1,327,500.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Matthew Liebowitz, EVP of Element Solutions, sold 50,000 shares at an average price of $26.55, totaling approximately $1.33 million, resulting in a 46.58% decrease in his ownership stake.
• Element Solutions has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.2%, and a payout ratio of 32% of earnings.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on Element Solutions, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $27.38.

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) EVP Matthew Liebowitz sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.55, for a total value of $1,327,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,522,722.15. This trade represents a 46.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Element Solutions Price Performance

NYSE ESI traded down $0.07 on Monday, hitting $26.44. 2,204,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,960,193. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.04. Element Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.77 and a 1-year high of $29.78. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.31.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 9.66%.The company had revenue of $625.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESI. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 1.2% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 45,210 shares of the company's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 0.8% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 76,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in Element Solutions by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 218,152 shares of the company's stock worth $4,941,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Element Solutions by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 83,682 shares of the company's stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Fermium Researc raised shares of Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.38.

Element Solutions Company 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.