135,064 Shares in Quaker Houghton $KWR Bought by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon bought 135,064 Quaker Houghton shares worth approximately $21.5 million, giving it a 0.78% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 77.46% of the company.
• Quaker Houghton exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.19 in EPS and $532.55 million in revenue, with revenue up 10.2% year over year. The company also authorized a $250 million share buyback and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock carries an average “Buy” rating and a $187 price target, with several firms recently raising their targets. Shares opened at $166.27, compared with a 52-week range of $112.18 to $183.01.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 135,064 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $21,458,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.78% of Quaker Houghton at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 16,835 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Quaker Houghton by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 406,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,793,000 after purchasing an additional 120,772 shares during the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the 4th quarter valued at $21,132,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $103,771,000 after purchasing an additional 121,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 469,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $64,533,000 after purchasing an additional 118,321 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quaker Houghton

In other news, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,678.96. This trade represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of Quaker Houghton stock opened at $166.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $159.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.92. Quaker Houghton has a twelve month low of $112.18 and a twelve month high of $183.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.40.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The firm had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $504.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This is a boost from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KWR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $187.00.

Quaker Houghton Profile

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of process fluids, chemical specialties and sustainable solutions for industrial applications. The company develops and supplies metalworking fluids, coatings, and corrosion inhibitors, as well as heat transfer, lubrication and additive products designed to improve productivity and extend equipment life. Its portfolio addresses a range of end markets including automotive, aerospace, defense, energy, mining, agriculture and heavy industry.

The company traces its roots back to the founding of Quaker Chemical Corporation in 1918 and Houghton International in 1865.

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