Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 25,871 Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 610.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.75.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESI traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,509,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,951,715. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.71 and a 200 day moving average of $23.89. Element Solutions Inc has a twelve month low of $16.77 and a twelve month high of $29.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $593.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Element Solutions's payout ratio is 26.89%.

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.