NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in shares of NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.08% of NewMarket worth $4,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in NewMarket by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in NewMarket by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 1,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in NewMarket by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 61.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

NewMarket Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NewMarket stock opened at $544.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $528.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $532.98. NewMarket Co. has a 1 year low of $480.00 and a 1 year high of $638.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 earnings per share 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid 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 is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

About NewMarket

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.