Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 16,209 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 247,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,209 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.23% of Celanese worth $38,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 3.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Celanese by 92.6% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Celanese by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly purchased 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE opened at $154.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $158.06 and a 200 day moving average of $143.87. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $99.33 and a 12 month high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.05). Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Celanese from $165.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.56.

Celanese Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.