Bank of America Corp DE Buys Shares of 233,176 Quaker Houghton $KWR

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 233,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $37,045,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.35% of Quaker Houghton at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KWR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $335,290,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $103,771,000 after acquiring an additional 121,854 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Quaker Houghton by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $93,271,000 after acquiring an additional 38,261 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $64,533,000 after acquiring an additional 118,321 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 406,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,793,000 after acquiring an additional 120,772 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KWR opened at $155.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $160.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $112.18 and a 1-year high of $183.01.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. Quaker Houghton's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KWR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quaker Houghton news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total value of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 616 shares in the company, valued at $103,678.96. This trade represents a 49.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton NYSE: KWR is a global provider of industrial process fluids and specialty chemicals. The company develops, manufactures and services products used in metalworking and other industrial applications, including coolants, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, corrosion preventatives, cleaners and specialty fluids.

Its products and technical services support manufacturing processes such as machining, forming, rolling, casting and heat treatment. Quaker Houghton serves customers across industries including steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining, construction, energy and general manufacturing.

The company traces its history to Quaker Chemical, which was founded in 1918.

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