Jain Global LLC Lowers Stake in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Jain Global LLC cut its position in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) by 64.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 602,102 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,085,003 shares during the quarter. Jain Global LLC owned about 0.25% of Element Solutions worth $15,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESI. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 339.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,098,000 after purchasing an additional 344,950 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 60.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,894,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,825,000 after buying an additional 712,466 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 4.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 872,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,726,000 after buying an additional 37,204 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Element Solutions by 19.5% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Trading Up 3.1%

ESI opened at $31.01 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.06 and its 200-day moving average is $27.74. Element Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.77 and a 52-week high of $37.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $676.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.40 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 7.48% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 40.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total transaction of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 147,832 shares in the company, valued at $5,250,992.64. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESI has been the subject of several recent research reports. CJS Securities raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.75.

Element Solutions Profile

Element Solutions Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies highly engineered chemistries to performance-driven end markets. The company’s solutions serve customers across the electronics, energy, transportation, consumer and industrial sectors, with a particular emphasis on electronics chemicals, metal plating, and industrial coatings additives.

In the electronics market, Element Solutions provides a range of plating and surface-treatment chemistries used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and advanced display technologies.