Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Reduces Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Celanese were worth $7,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the third quarter worth $7,879,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 155,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,168,000 after acquiring an additional 36,701 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Celanese by 39.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 38,334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 10,775 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Celanese by 14.1% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 131,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,590,000 after purchasing an additional 16,253 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,453,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.22.

Celanese Stock Performance

Celanese stock opened at $155.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.28. The company has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.36. Celanese Co. has a 12-month low of $99.33 and a 12-month high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.05). Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 11.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.64%.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.