Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Quaker Houghton by 0.2%, owning approximately 1,635,705 shares worth about $202 million after selling 2,714 shares during the first quarter.
• Quaker Houghton recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.508 per share, which represents an annualized dividend of $2.03 and a yield of 1.5%.
• Analysts have generally rated Quaker Houghton stock as a "Moderate Buy," with a new average price target set at $150.75.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,635,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,714 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.25% of Quaker Houghton worth $202,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KWR. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 402.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 90,389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,723,000 after acquiring an additional 72,383 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 127,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $17,959,000 after acquiring an additional 70,218 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 191,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,998,000 after acquiring an additional 65,778 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 445,365 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $62,689,000 after acquiring an additional 51,393 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 108.9% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 96,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $13,589,000 after acquiring an additional 50,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KWR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $135.00 price target on Quaker Houghton and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.75.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

KWR traded up $0.3130 during trading on Monday, reaching $145.0330. 127,715 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 159,506. The company's 50-day moving average is $124.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.28. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $95.91 and a 12-month high of $180.96.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $483.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $463.57 million. Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.35% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.508 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Quaker Houghton's payout ratio is -451.16%.

Quaker Houghton Company Profile

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals.