Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 604,550 shares of the company's stock after selling 123,410 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Element Solutions worth $13,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,684,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,390,000 after buying an additional 188,350 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 12.6% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,644,155 shares of the company's stock worth $32,242,000 after buying an additional 183,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 2.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,730,459 shares of the company's stock worth $33,934,000 after buying an additional 45,752 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 47.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,403,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 4.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,232,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $377,154,000 after purchasing an additional 798,662 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $27,120.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 146,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,090.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $27,120.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 146,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,090.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $1,430,674.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 704,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,341,964. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,203 shares of company stock worth $2,255,110. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE ESI traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.36. 1,326,717 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,328,626. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.77 and its 200-day moving average is $21.79. Element Solutions Inc has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $25.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.32.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $573.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.43 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 5.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. TheStreet raised shares of Element Solutions from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.60.

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.