Arizona State Retirement System Buys 36 Shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,013 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NewMarket by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 722,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,190,000 after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 146,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NewMarket in the 4th quarter valued at $37,659,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,367,000 after buying an additional 8,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 36,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,079,000 after buying an additional 18,413 shares during the last quarter. 61.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

NewMarket Stock Performance

Shares of NewMarket stock opened at $557.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $549.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $563.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $436.90 and a fifty-two week high of $650.00.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.63 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $710.23 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 37.06% and a net margin of 15.12%.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $10.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NewMarket news, CAO Bruce R. Hazelgrove III sold 1,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.