Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 4,947 Shares of Quaker Houghton $KWR

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 60,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,947 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $8,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton in the third quarter worth approximately $5,035,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1,897.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 321,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,376,000 after purchasing an additional 305,537 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 278,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,251,000 after purchasing an additional 24,573 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 3.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 633,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $83,514,000 after purchasing an additional 19,788 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 163.4% in the third quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 31,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 19,446 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $983,655.96. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Seaport Research Partners raised Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quaker Houghton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KWR opened at $137.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 489.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $137.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.62. Quaker Houghton has a 52-week low of $111.32 and a 52-week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.508 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 725.00%.

About Quaker Houghton

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.