Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 988,123 shares of the company's stock after selling 286,210 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Element Solutions worth $25,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,921,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,602 shares during the period. FIL Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,818,000. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $29,800,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $24,169,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $13,573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Trading Down 1.5%

ESI stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.76. The stock had a trading volume of 72,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,956,219. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. Element Solutions Inc has a 12-month low of $16.77 and a 12-month high of $29.78. The company's 50-day moving average price is $20.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.48.

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

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Element Solutions's payout ratio is 26.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESI has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays cut their target price 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.38.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Element Solutions Company 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.