Bailard Inc. Acquires New Stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,292 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 22.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,017,000 after buying an additional 18,235 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 590,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $47,342,000 after purchasing an additional 7,235 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the third quarter worth $635,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 6,247 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Sensient Technologies stock opened at $70.79 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.51 and its 200-day moving average is $75.38. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.71. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 12 month low of $65.83 and a 12 month high of $82.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $376.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.10 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 8.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

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.