Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 45,277 Shares of Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management cut its Element Solutions stake by 70.9% in the first quarter, selling 45,277 shares and retaining 18,545 shares valued at approximately $633,000. Institutional investors collectively own 92.32% of the company.
• Element Solutions reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, exceeding estimates of $0.43, while revenue rose 56.4% year over year to $977.9 million. Analysts project full-year EPS of $1.81.
• ESI recently traded at $38.48, below its 50-day average, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $43.50 price target; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 70.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,545 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,277 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Element Solutions were worth $633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Element Solutions by 151.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 778 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 27.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,011 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Price Performance

ESI stock opened at $38.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.34 and a 200-day moving average of $37.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.26. Element Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $977.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $873.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. Element Solutions's revenue was up 56.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Element Solutions to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $47.00 price target on Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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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