Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 124,226 Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,102,355 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 124,226 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.87% of Element Solutions worth $53,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 549.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,983,000 after buying an additional 1,369,981 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $24,169,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,573,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,316,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,472,000 after purchasing an additional 510,332 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,244,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,685,000 after purchasing an additional 249,280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Element Solutions Trading Down 9.4 %

Shares of ESI stock opened at $18.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. Element Solutions Inc has a 12-month low of $17.72 and a 12-month high of $29.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.16.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. The business had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. Research analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Element Solutions in a research note on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

Element Solutions Company Profile

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products.