NewMarket Corporation $NEU Stock Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) by 19.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,237 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $8,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in NewMarket in the second quarter valued at $556,339,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of NewMarket by 6.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 194,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $124,658,000 after buying an additional 12,172 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of NewMarket during the 2nd quarter worth $72,517,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of NewMarket during the 2nd quarter worth $56,245,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of NewMarket during the 2nd quarter worth $48,146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

NewMarket Price Performance

NEU stock opened at $702.65 on Friday. NewMarket Corporation has a 1 year low of $580.03 and a 1 year high of $981.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $855.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $765.47. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.59.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $13.50 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $716.50 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 25.12% and a net margin of 16.51%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $3.25 dividend. This represents a $13.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. NewMarket’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewMarket from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NewMarket from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat, NewMarket currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Company Profile

NewMarket Corporation is a Richmond, Virginia-based holding company whose principal business is petroleum additives, conducted through its subsidiary Afton Chemical Corporation. Afton develops, manufactures and markets additives that help improve the performance of fuels and lubricants, serving customers across the energy and transportation industries. Afton’s products include fuel additives and lubricant additives for applications such as engine oils, driveline fluids and industrial lubricants.