Aristides Capital LLC Has $287,000 Stock Position in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU)

Aristides Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 544 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in NewMarket were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NEU. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in NewMarket by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of NewMarket by 51.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 675 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of NewMarket by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 7.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of NewMarket by 3.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,675 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

NewMarket Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NewMarket stock opened at $544.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. NewMarket Co. has a 12-month low of $480.00 and a 12-month high of $624.91. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $538.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $532.97.

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

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $2.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.