Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $6.75 Million Position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 265,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,570 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $6,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Element Solutions by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its position in Element Solutions by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESI shares. StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Element Solutions Trading Up 1.2 %

ESI opened at $18.22 on Monday. Element Solutions Inc has a twelve month low of $16.77 and a twelve month high of $29.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.24 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

About Element Solutions

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.