Oak Thistle LLC Acquires Shares of 2,674 NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake of 2,674 shares in NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) during Q4, valued at approximately $1.84 million.
• Weiss Ratings downgraded NewMarket from "buy (b-)" to "hold (c+)," and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Hold.
• Director Ting Xu purchased 400 shares at about $619.21 each—raising their holdings to 929 shares (a 75.6% increase)—and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $3.00 (annualized $12.00, ~1.9% yield).

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,838,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in NewMarket in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in NewMarket in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in NewMarket in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in NewMarket by 125.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in NewMarket in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 61.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of NewMarket from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ting Xu bought 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $619.21 per share, for a total transaction of $247,684.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,246.09. This trade represents a 75.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

NewMarket Trading Up 0.7%

NEU opened at $646.38 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $635.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $709.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.48. NewMarket Corporation has a twelve month low of $513.35 and a twelve month high of $875.97.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.65 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $635.40 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 25.38%.

NewMarket Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. NewMarket's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.01%.

NewMarket Profile

NewMarket Corporation is a specialty chemicals and lubricants company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its Valvoline business, the company markets a broad portfolio of automotive aftermarket products, including engine oils, transmission fluids, greases and vehicle care solutions. Valvoline products are distributed through retail and commercial channels as well as a network of quick-lube service centers that provide oil changes, preventive maintenance and related services.

In its chemical additives segment, NewMarket develops, manufactures and sells performance additives for fuels, lubricants and industrial fluids.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.