Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 2,175 Shares of Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR – Get Rating) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,175 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Quaker Chemical were worth $14,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Chemical by 0.4% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,189,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $316,073,000 after purchasing an additional 9,755 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,568,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $226,453,000 after buying an additional 21,526 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,359,780 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $203,314,000 after buying an additional 93,539 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 593,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,626,000 after buying an additional 11,298 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 464,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,063,000 after purchasing an additional 5,845 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph A. Berquist sold 1,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.76, for a total transaction of $405,885.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,897,624.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Joseph A. Berquist sold 1,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.76, for a total value of $405,885.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,897,624.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert T. Traub sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $748,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,150 shares in the company, valued at $645,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,895 shares of company stock valued at $5,699,143. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Chemical Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KWR opened at $197.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $193.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.57. Quaker Chemical Co. has a 12-month low of $129.06 and a 12-month high of $216.45.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $500.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.29 million. Quaker Chemical had a positive return on equity of 8.74% and a negative net margin of 0.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 17th will be paid a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 14th. Quaker Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently -483.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KWR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Quaker Chemical from $203.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Quaker Chemical from $220.00 to $235.00 in a report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Quaker Chemical in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Quaker Chemical Company Profile

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Quaker Houghton engages in the business of developing, producing, and marketing formulated chemical specialty products. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and Global Specialty Businesses. Its products include can making lubricants, cleaners, coatings, cold rolling oils, corrosion preventives, die casting lubricants, dust suppressants, greases, ground control agents, hot rolling oils, hydraulic fluids, industrial lubricants, longwall fluids, metal forming fluids, metal removal fluids, pickle oils, surface treatments, temper fluids, and tin plating.