Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SXT opened at $76.64 on Thursday. Sensient Technologies has a 52-week low of $52.90 and a 52-week high of $82.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 4.31.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $403.53 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sensient Technologies news, insider Steven B. Morris sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $29,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,082 shares in the company, valued at $297,863.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Essie Whitelaw sold 600 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.84, for a total value of $45,504.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,826 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,283.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven B. Morris sold 400 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $29,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,863.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,037 shares of company stock worth $153,245 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sensient Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SXT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,188,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 9.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,325,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $311,408,000 after acquiring an additional 457,446 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 182.3% in the first quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 280,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,385,000 after acquiring an additional 180,933 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,161,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,657,000 after acquiring an additional 129,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,919,000. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sensient Technologies

Sensient Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and Africa. The company offers flavor-delivery systems, and compounded and blended products; ingredient products, such as essential oils, natural and synthetic flavors, and natural extracts; and chili powder, paprika, and chili pepper, as well as dehydrated vegetables comprising parsley, celery, and spinach to the food, beverage, and personal care industries.