Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Purchases Shares of 27,900 Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 27,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $709,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 610.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Element Solutions by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESI traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.39. 451,487 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,048,137. Element Solutions Inc has a twelve month low of $16.77 and a twelve month high of $29.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $21.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.01.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $593.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $576.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ESI shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America raised Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.