Amundi Sells 51,262 Shares of Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Element Solutions stake by 39.4% in the second quarter, selling 51,262 shares and retaining 78,968 shares valued at approximately $3.77 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.32% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $46.70, compared with ESI’s recent opening price of $34.30.
• Element Solutions surpassed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.47 EPS versus $0.43 expected and $977.9 million in revenue, up 56.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.

Amundi reduced its position in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 39.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,968 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,262 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Element Solutions were worth $3,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 339.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,622 shares of the company's stock worth $10,098,000 after acquiring an additional 344,950 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,894,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,825,000 after buying an additional 712,466 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 872,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,726,000 after buying an additional 37,204 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Element Solutions in the 1st quarter worth about $400,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 13.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 462,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,484,000 after acquiring an additional 55,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESI shares. Freedom Capmkts raised Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Element Solutions from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $47.00 target price on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.70.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

ESI stock opened at $34.30 on Friday. Element Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.35, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.48.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 14.88%. The firm had revenue of $977.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $873.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 56.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Element Solutions's payout ratio is presently 43.24%.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc NYSE: ESI is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies engineered materials and process technologies for the electronics, industrial and energy markets. Its products are used in manufacturing, assembly, protection and performance-enhancement applications across a range of industries.

The company's electronics products support printed circuit board fabrication, semiconductor packaging and assembly, and other electronic component manufacturing processes.

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