Vanguard Group Inc. Has $202.19 Million 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. lessened its position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,635,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,714 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.25% of Quaker Houghton worth $202,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KWR. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 3.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 75,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 390.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 363 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 25.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.8% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 8.1% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

KWR stock traded up $7.3020 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $144.2120. The stock had a trading volume of 189,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,947. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of -335.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.45. Quaker Houghton has a fifty-two week low of $95.91 and a fifty-two week high of $180.96.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $483.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.57 million. Quaker Houghton had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 8.35%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. This is a positive change from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is presently -472.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KWR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $135.00 target price on shares of Quaker Houghton and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.75.

About Quaker Houghton

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.