Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 6,828 Shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its holdings in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 92.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,828 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of NewMarket by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of NewMarket by 35.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,839 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 30,524 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,846,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NewMarket during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,917,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

NewMarket Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NEU opened at $564.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.75. NewMarket Co. has a 52 week low of $480.00 and a 52 week high of $596.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $548.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $533.12.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 35.48% and a net margin of 16.59%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $2.75 per share. This is a boost from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

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.