Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 717,923 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 40,028 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.49% of NewMarket worth $326,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 0.3% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 664,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $302,457,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in NewMarket by 41.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 105,136 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $47,841,000 after purchasing an additional 30,694 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in NewMarket by 57.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,875,000 after purchasing an additional 9,557 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in NewMarket by 64.0% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,114 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in NewMarket by 45.8% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,248 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

NewMarket Price Performance

NewMarket stock opened at $629.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $606.43 and its 200 day moving average is $540.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. NewMarket Co. has a 52-week low of $356.08 and a 52-week high of $650.00.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 41.33%. The business had revenue of $643.35 million for the quarter.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $2.50 per share. This is a boost from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $10.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. NewMarket’s payout ratio is 24.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 4th.

NewMarket Company Profile

NewMarket Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and sale of petroleum additives. The company offers lubricant additives for use in various vehicle and industrial applications, including engine oils, transmission fluids, off-road powertrain and hydraulic systems, gear oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and other applications where metal-to-metal moving parts are utilized; engine oil additives designed for passenger cars, motorcycles, on and off-road heavy duty commercial equipment, locomotives, and engines in ocean-going vessels; driveline additives designed for products, such as transmission fluids, axle fluids, and off-road powertrain fluids; and industrial additives designed for products for industrial applications consisting of hydraulic fluids, grease, industrial gear fluids, and industrial specialty applications, such as turbine oils.