Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Quaker Chemical were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Chemical in the third quarter worth $204,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quaker Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,409,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 327,057 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,329,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Chemical by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 6.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,668,000 after buying an additional 1,794 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KWR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Quaker Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Quaker Chemical from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Quaker Chemical Price Performance

NYSE:KWR opened at $190.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Quaker Chemical Co. has a 52 week low of $138.67 and a 52 week high of $221.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $198.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.49.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $467.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.55 million. Quaker Chemical had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 5.77%. Quaker Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Chemical declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 15th. Quaker Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Quaker Chemical Company Profile

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals.