Element Solutions Inc. $ESI Shares Sold by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management cut its stake in Element Solutions by 17.2% in the first quarter, selling 737,538 shares and ending with 3,551,622 shares worth about $121.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on ESI remains constructive, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $39.57. Several analysts recently upgraded the stock or raised targets, including Truist lifting its target to $47.
• Element Solutions reported strong Q1 results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $0.41 per share on $840 million in sales. Revenue rose 41.5% year over year, and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,551,622 shares of the company's stock after selling 737,538 shares during the period. Element Solutions accounts for about 1.2% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 1.46% of Element Solutions worth $121,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 125,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,146,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 18,138 shares of the company's stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,854 shares of the company's stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $38.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.57.

Element Solutions Price Performance

ESI opened at $46.02 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.15. Element Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.28 and a 12-month high of $46.72. The firm has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.23, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $840.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $710.51 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 5.32%.Element Solutions's revenue was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.61%.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies highly engineered chemistries to performance-driven end markets. The company's solutions serve customers across the electronics, energy, transportation, consumer and industrial sectors, with a particular emphasis on electronics chemicals, metal plating, and industrial coatings additives.

In the electronics market, Element Solutions provides a range of plating and surface-treatment chemistries used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and advanced display technologies.

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