William Blair Investment Management LLC Takes $66.81 Million Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 420,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,810,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Quaker Houghton during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 165.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 284.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 556.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of KWR stock opened at $162.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.15. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.40. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $112.18 and a 12 month high of $183.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $532.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 4.94%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is 36.19%.

Quaker Houghton announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total transaction of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $983,655.96. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,678.96. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Profile

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.