UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 448,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 24,672 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Celanese worth $31,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group lifted its holdings in Celanese by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.18 per share, with a total value of $77,174.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,120.24. This represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Celanese from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Celanese from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Celanese from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.94.

Celanese Trading Down 3.0%

NYSE:CE traded down $1.65 on Friday, reaching $52.86. 1,742,869 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,219,072. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.69 and a 200-day moving average of $59.63. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $36.29 and a 52-week high of $152.50.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.20. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -0.79%.

Celanese Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.