Quaker Houghton $KWR Shares Purchased by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 134.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 7,493 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $1,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,771,000 after acquiring an additional 121,854 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 6.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,028,000 after purchasing an additional 41,530 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 79.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 661,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $87,204,000 after purchasing an additional 293,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 596,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,785,000 after purchasing an additional 50,264 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Quaker Houghton by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 469,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $64,533,000 after purchasing an additional 118,321 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KWR. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

Insider Transactions at Quaker Houghton

In other Quaker Houghton news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at $983,655.96. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

Shares of KWR opened at $141.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 504.57, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $135.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.22. Quaker Houghton has a 52 week low of $105.50 and a 52 week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.508 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of process fluids, chemical specialties and sustainable solutions for industrial applications. The company develops and supplies metalworking fluids, coatings, and corrosion inhibitors, as well as heat transfer, lubrication and additive products designed to improve productivity and extend equipment life. Its portfolio addresses a range of end markets including automotive, aerospace, defense, energy, mining, agriculture and heavy industry.

The company traces its roots back to the founding of Quaker Chemical Corporation in 1918 and Houghton International in 1865.