Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 5,374 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 5,374 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Celanese worth $16,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Celanese by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 155,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,168,000 after purchasing an additional 36,701 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,879,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Celanese by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 38,334 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 10,775 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 131,751 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,590,000 after purchasing an additional 16,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 142.1% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on CE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Celanese from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays cut shares of Celanese from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.78.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,934,933.87. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 1,400 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.34. The stock had a trading volume of 511,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 632,862. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $160.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.50. Celanese Co. has a 1-year low of $103.23 and a 1-year high of $172.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.17. Celanese had a net margin of 18.60% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Celanese's revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Celanese Company Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.