Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Reduces Position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its position in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 75,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,178 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $1,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 2.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 52,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 24,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 11,004 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 108.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 11,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 5,782 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the third quarter worth $542,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter valued at $2,724,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,510. This represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.14.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESI opened at $22.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.46 and a 200 day moving average of $26.25. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions Inc has a one year low of $22.13 and a one year high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. As a group, research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

Element Solutions 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.