Element Solutions Inc. $ESI Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) by 43.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 43,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,916 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $1,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Scopus Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 134.6% during the second quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,426,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,602,000 after buying an additional 1,965,691 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP boosted its position in Element Solutions by 61.7% during the second quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 4,656,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777,265 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Element Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $28,031,000. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,257,000. Finally, Albar Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $23,845,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Element Solutions Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of ESI opened at $28.48 on Wednesday. Element Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.77 and a twelve month high of $29.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 4.05, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.73.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $656.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.13 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 9.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $984,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 117,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,122,653.80. This trade represents a 23.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $7,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 306,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,285,760. This trade represents a 48.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. CJS Securities raised Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.88.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies highly engineered chemistries to performance-driven end markets. The company’s solutions serve customers across the electronics, energy, transportation, consumer and industrial sectors, with a particular emphasis on electronics chemicals, metal plating, and industrial coatings additives.

In the electronics market, Element Solutions provides a range of plating and surface-treatment chemistries used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and advanced display technologies.