Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,867 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of NewMarket worth $10,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NEU. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of NewMarket by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of NewMarket by 481.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

NewMarket Trading Down 1.2 %

NEU stock opened at $516.81 on Friday. NewMarket Co. has a 1-year low of $480.00 and a 1-year high of $638.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $522.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $534.51.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 35.48% and a net margin of 16.59%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $2.75 per share. This is an increase from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

NewMarket Company 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.