Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,287 Shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,287 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.18% of NewMarket worth $9,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in NewMarket in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in NewMarket by 590.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 76 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in NewMarket in the second quarter worth $54,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NewMarket in the second quarter worth $103,000. 61.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

NewMarket Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE NEU opened at $538.42 on Tuesday. NewMarket Co. has a twelve month low of $494.04 and a twelve month high of $650.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $541.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $542.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.50.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $13.79 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $724.95 million during the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 35.79%.

NewMarket Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $10.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.21%.

About NewMarket

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.