The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 100,658 Shares of ICL Group Ltd. $ICL

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL) by 30.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 235,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 100,658 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in ICL Group were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in ICL Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 19,616,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,349,000 after acquiring an additional 877,644 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in ICL Group by 12.8% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 22,040,479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,812,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502,702 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of ICL Group by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,856,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,615,000 after acquiring an additional 617,801 shares during the period. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD increased its stake in shares of ICL Group by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 2,084,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,960,000 after purchasing an additional 502,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ICL Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,066,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $167,132,000 after purchasing an additional 382,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ICL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ICL Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on ICL Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

ICL Group Stock Up 0.1%

ICL stock opened at $5.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.44. ICL Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $4.76 and a twelve month high of $6.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. ICL Group had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that ICL Group Ltd. will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.0581 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

ICL Group Profile

ICL Group is a global specialty minerals and chemicals company headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Established in its current form through the consolidation of Israeli government–owned chemical operations, ICL has evolved into a publicly traded entity on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ICL). The company’s origins date back to state-driven mineral extraction in the Negev and the Dead Sea region, and over the decades it has grown through strategic acquisitions, technological innovation and a gradual privatization process completed in the early 2010s.

ICL’s core operations are organized into three principal business areas.