William Blair Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in Quaker Houghton $KWR

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 33.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 469,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 118,321 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $64,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 556.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 46,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,406,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 16,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.00.

Quaker Houghton Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Quaker Houghton stock opened at $141.72 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.69. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 506.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.42. Quaker Houghton has a fifty-two week low of $103.36 and a fifty-two week high of $183.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.508 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of process fluids, chemical specialties and sustainable solutions for industrial applications. The company develops and supplies metalworking fluids, coatings, and corrosion inhibitors, as well as heat transfer, lubrication and additive products designed to improve productivity and extend equipment life. Its portfolio addresses a range of end markets including automotive, aerospace, defense, energy, mining, agriculture and heavy industry.

The company traces its roots back to the founding of Quaker Chemical Corporation in 1918 and Houghton International in 1865.