VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases New Holdings in NewMarket Corporation $NEU

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $2,250,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of NewMarket by 77,185.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,117,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,632,042,000 after buying an additional 7,108,785 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the second quarter worth approximately $556,339,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 194,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $124,658,000 after acquiring an additional 12,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 175,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $120,737,000 after acquiring an additional 8,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NewMarket by 196.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 137,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $114,246,000 after acquiring an additional 91,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on NEU shares. Wall Street Zen raised NewMarket from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded NewMarket from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, NewMarket has a consensus rating of "Buy".

NewMarket Stock Performance

NEU stock opened at $885.25 on Friday. NewMarket Corporation has a 1-year low of $580.03 and a 1-year high of $981.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $856.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $750.94. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $14.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $747.09 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 24.62%.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. NewMarket's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.82%.

NewMarket Profile

NewMarket Corporation NYSE: NEU is a holding company that develops, manufactures and supplies specialty chemicals, primarily for the petroleum and related industries. Its products are designed to improve the performance, efficiency and durability of fuels, lubricants and other petroleum-based products.

NewMarket operates through its principal subsidiaries, including Afton Chemical Corporation and Ethyl Corporation. Afton Chemical develops and produces fuel and lubricant additives used in automotive, marine, aviation, commercial and industrial applications.

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