PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,644 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,573,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $423,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE ESI opened at $25.31 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.34. Element Solutions Inc has a 12-month low of $23.10 and a 12-month high of $29.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. Research analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.37%.

Element Solutions Profile

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products.