Quaker Houghton $KWR Stock Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 413,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,792 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $65,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the second quarter valued at about $335,290,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $93,271,000 after acquiring an additional 38,261 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,045,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 199,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,766,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,472,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE KWR traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 137,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,484. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $112.18 and a 12 month high of $183.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.30.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.80% and a return on equity of 9.84%. The firm had revenue of $544.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KWR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank boosted their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered Quaker Houghton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $202.00 to $192.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.00.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of industrial process fluids and specialty chemicals. Its products include metalworking fluids, industrial lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cleaners, corrosion-prevention products, and coatings used in manufacturing and other industrial operations. The company serves customers across industries such as steel and aluminum production, automotive, aerospace, mining, and general machinery. Its solutions are designed to support processes including metal forming, machining, heat treatment, and equipment operation.