Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,184,362 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,125,837 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.55% of Element Solutions worth $157,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE ESI opened at $22.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.27. Element Solutions Inc has a 1-year low of $22.13 and a 1-year high of $29.78.

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

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 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 that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESI shares. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered their price target 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 restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.14.

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.