Man Group plc Has $2.45 Million Stake in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Man Group plc lessened its position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,422 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,238 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Element Solutions were worth $2,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $423,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,328,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,224,000 after acquiring an additional 29,253 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,709 shares of the company's stock worth $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 11,702 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $24,169,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of ESI traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 974,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,966,882. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. Element Solutions Inc has a 1-year low of $16.77 and a 1-year high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $593.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.73 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.89%.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESI shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $29.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.38.

About Element Solutions

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.