Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 77,908 Shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 64.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 198,249 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,908 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 2.07% of NewMarket worth $102,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in NewMarket by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of NewMarket by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 146,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in NewMarket during the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in NewMarket in the 4th quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in NewMarket in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,659,000. Institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NewMarket from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

NewMarket Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEU opened at $541.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $552.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $560.89. NewMarket Co. has a fifty-two week low of $436.90 and a fifty-two week high of $650.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.63 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $710.23 million during the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 37.06%.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $10.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. NewMarket’s payout ratio is presently 24.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Bruce R. Hazelgrove III sold 1,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.31, for a total value of $691,273.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,862.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.