Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Reduces Holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its stake in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 454,584 shares of the company's stock after selling 169,916 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.19% of Element Solutions worth $10,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 85.6% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $1,430,674.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 704,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,341,964. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $1,430,674.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 704,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,341,964. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Goralski sold 11,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $269,212.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,327,947.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,203 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,110 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESI traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, hitting $23.98. 915,382 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,305,740. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $24.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.18. Element Solutions Inc has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $25.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Element Solutions's payout ratio is 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ESI shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.60.

Element Solutions Profile

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.