Xponance Inc. Buys 47 Shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 838 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of NewMarket by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $127,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,979 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in NewMarket by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 198,065 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,648,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in NewMarket by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 91,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 15,694 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in NewMarket by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 82,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,508,000 after acquiring an additional 3,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of NewMarket by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 66,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,545,000 after acquiring an additional 15,129 shares during the period. 61.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NewMarket Stock Performance

NEU opened at $555.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.41. NewMarket Co. has a 12-month low of $480.00 and a 12-month high of $638.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $530.22 and a 200-day moving average of $533.21.

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

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.