Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 722,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.53% of NewMarket worth $394,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 17.2% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 436 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 61.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NewMarket Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NewMarket stock opened at $510.50 on Friday. NewMarket Co. has a 52-week low of $396.76 and a 52-week high of $650.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $541.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $574.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.48.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $696.74 million for the quarter.

NewMarket Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $2.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $10.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. NewMarket’s payout ratio is currently 24.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th.

NewMarket Profile

NewMarket Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and sale of petroleum additives. The company offers lubricant additives for use in various vehicle and industrial applications, including engine oils, transmission fluids, off-road powertrain and hydraulic systems, gear oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and other applications where metal-to-metal moving parts are utilized; engine oil additives designed for passenger cars, motorcycles, on and off-road heavy duty commercial equipment, locomotives, and engines in ocean-going vessels; driveline additives designed for products, such as transmission fluids, axle fluids, and off-road powertrain fluids; and industrial additives designed for products for industrial applications consisting of hydraulic fluids, grease, industrial gear fluids, and industrial specialty applications, such as turbine oils.