Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 2,300 NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in NewMarket in the third quarter valued at $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in NewMarket in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in NewMarket by 100.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA boosted its position in NewMarket by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 75 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

NewMarket Stock Performance

Shares of NewMarket stock opened at $787.05 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $748.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $688.89. NewMarket Corporation has a one year low of $580.03 and a one year high of $875.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 0.56.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $12.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 24.12% and a net margin of 15.25%.The business had revenue of $669.72 million for the quarter.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded NewMarket from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Company Profile

NewMarket Corporation is a specialty chemicals and lubricants company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its Valvoline business, the company markets a broad portfolio of automotive aftermarket products, including engine oils, transmission fluids, greases and vehicle care solutions. Valvoline products are distributed through retail and commercial channels as well as a network of quick-lube service centers that provide oil changes, preventive maintenance and related services.

In its chemical additives segment, NewMarket develops, manufactures and sells performance additives for fuels, lubricants and industrial fluids.