Element Solutions Inc. $ESI Shares Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its stake in Element Solutions Inc. by 32.5%, selling 21,896 shares and holding 45,506 shares worth approximately $1,031,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Insider activity has seen significant sales, with EVP Carey J. Dorman and EVP Matthew Liebowitz selling a combined 90,725 shares, representing substantial decreases in their respective ownership positions.
• Wall Street analysts have a generally positive outlook on the stock, with the average rating being Buy and a consensus price target of $27.38, indicating potential for upside based on current performance metrics.

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its stake in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,506 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,896 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Element Solutions were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESI. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 940.6% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Element Solutions by 311.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,126 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Element Solutions by 1,707.2% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 8,041 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carey J. Dorman sold 40,725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $1,085,728.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 214,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,727,554.42. This represents a 15.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Liebowitz sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,522,722.15. The trade was a 46.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 168,399 shares of company stock valued at $4,492,561. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ESI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price 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 boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Fermium Researc upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.38.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Element Solutions stock opened at $24.95 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.31. Element Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.77 and a 1 year high of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a current ratio of 4.10.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Element Solutions's payout ratio is 32.00%.

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.

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