Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Univar Solutions Inc. (NYSE:UNVR)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Univar Solutions Inc. (NYSE:UNVR – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ellevest Inc. boosted its position in Univar Solutions by 1,239.1% during the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Univar Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Univar Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Univar Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $181,000. Finally, HM Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Univar Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $234,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Univar Solutions stock opened at $30.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.58. The stock has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.76. Univar Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.56 and a 1-year high of $34.00.

Univar Solutions (NYSE:UNVR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Univar Solutions had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 4.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Univar Solutions Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNVR. Bank of America upgraded shares of Univar Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Univar Solutions from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on Univar Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Univar Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.13.

In other news, Director Stephen D. Newlin sold 2,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $67,454.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Jukes sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 249,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,980,192. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 9,000 shares of company stock worth $270,270 and have sold 127,326 shares worth $4,043,954. 1.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Univar Solutions Company Profile (Get Rating)

Univar Solutions Inc distributes commodity and specialty chemical products, and provides related services worldwide. It offers epoxy resins, polyurethanes, titanium dioxide, fumed silica, esters, plasticizers, silicones, and specialty amines; ingredients for cleaners, detergents, and disinfectant products; and base stocks, performance-enhancing additives for lubricants and metalworking fluids.

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