Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 158,111 Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 158,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,575,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.07% of Element Solutions at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESI. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 479.7% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 67,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 55,933 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 48.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,716,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,805,000 after acquiring an additional 560,346 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $623,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 13.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,196 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 110.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,102 shares of the company's stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 30,953 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ESI traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,623,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,661,479. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 3.16. Element Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.77 and a 1-year high of $29.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $22.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.19.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $625.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $587.45 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 9.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upgraded Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.38.

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.