Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $8.49 Million Investment in NewMarket Corporation $NEU

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 10,735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,494,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NEU. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NewMarket during the second quarter worth approximately $556,339,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NewMarket in the 4th quarter worth $64,654,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in NewMarket by 196.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 137,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,246,000 after purchasing an additional 91,458 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in NewMarket by 376.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 99,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,205,000 after purchasing an additional 78,422 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in NewMarket by 7,743.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 75,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,069,000 after purchasing an additional 74,797 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NEU. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NewMarket from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NewMarket from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, NewMarket has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Stock Up 0.5%

NewMarket stock opened at $902.39 on Wednesday. NewMarket Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $580.03 and a fifty-two week high of $981.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $843.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $736.87. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.55.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $14.54 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 24.62%. The firm had revenue of $747.09 million during the quarter.

NewMarket Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

NewMarket Company Profile

NewMarket Corporation is a specialty chemicals and lubricants company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its Valvoline business, the company markets a broad portfolio of automotive aftermarket products, including engine oils, transmission fluids, greases and vehicle care solutions. Valvoline products are distributed through retail and commercial channels as well as a network of quick-lube service centers that provide oil changes, preventive maintenance and related services.

In its chemical additives segment, NewMarket develops, manufactures and sells performance additives for fuels, lubricants and industrial fluids.