North Forty Two & Co. Makes New Investment in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,726,000. NewMarket makes up 2.0% of North Forty Two & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 19.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,254 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,522,000 after buying an additional 2,807 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 34.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,656,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the fourth quarter worth approximately $252,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 61.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 1.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,917,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

NewMarket Price Performance

Shares of NEU opened at $536.94 on Wednesday. NewMarket Co. has a twelve month low of $480.00 and a twelve month high of $638.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $524.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $533.47. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.41.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.82%.

NewMarket Company 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.