Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Director Martin E. Franklin Sells 2,000,000 Shares

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the business’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 value of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Element Solutions stock opened at $25.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.78 and its 200 day moving average is $26.34. Element Solutions Inc has a 1-year low of $23.10 and a 1-year high of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS 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 net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. Research analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESI. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 16.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 209.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 321,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,736,000 after buying an additional 217,624 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,889,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 8.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $495,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Company Profile

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.