Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Stock Position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,069 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 914 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $3,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NEU. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in NewMarket by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of NewMarket by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 1,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NewMarket by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in NewMarket by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

NewMarket Price Performance

Shares of NEU opened at $567.08 on Tuesday. NewMarket Co. has a fifty-two week low of $480.00 and a fifty-two week high of $637.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $533.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $532.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.75.

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

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. NewMarket’s payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

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.