New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 4,518 Shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,518 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.44% of NewMarket worth $22,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NEU. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of NewMarket in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 309 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NewMarket Stock Performance

NEU opened at $529.04 on Friday. NewMarket Co. has a 12-month low of $371.69 and a 12-month high of $650.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $612.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $561.14.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $696.74 million during the quarter.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $2.50 per share. This represents a $10.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. NewMarket’s payout ratio is 24.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report 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.