Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $10.52 Million Holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its position in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 454,584 shares of the company’s stock after selling 169,916 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $10,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $528,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Element Solutions by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 34,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Element Solutions by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 22,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded Element Solutions from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $1,430,674.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 704,395 shares in the company, valued at $16,341,964. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 11,604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $269,212.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,327,947.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $1,430,674.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 704,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,341,964. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,203 shares of company stock worth $2,255,110 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Stock Up 0.6 %

ESI traded up $0.14 on Tuesday, hitting $23.84. 128,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,295,063. Element Solutions Inc has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $25.81. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.37, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.15 and its 200-day moving average is $22.15.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $573.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.43 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 5.06%. Element Solutions’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Element Solutions 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.