Element Solutions Inc. $ESI Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Element Solutions Inc. by 59.9%, selling 35,399 shares and holding 23,703 shares valued at $569,000 at the end of the last reporting period.
• The company had a strong quarterly earnings report, with $0.37 EPS surpassing estimates and a revenue of $625.20 million, marking a 2.0% year-over-year increase.
• Element Solutions announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 32.00%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 59.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,703 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,399 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Element Solutions were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in Element Solutions by 77.4% in the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,650,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,387,000 after purchasing an additional 720,365 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Element Solutions by 60.2% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 152,519 shares of the company's stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 57,308 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the first quarter worth $1,172,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at $400,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 4.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Element Solutions Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Element Solutions stock opened at $26.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.04. Element Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.77 and a fifty-two week high of $29.78.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Element Solutions news, EVP John Edward Capps sold 77,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $2,079,332.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 609,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,324,078.30. This represents a 11.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Liebowitz sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.55, for a total value of $1,327,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 168,399 shares of company stock valued at $4,492,561. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ESI. Fermium Researc raised Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp raised their target price on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $27.63.

Element Solutions 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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