Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 1,915 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 63,314 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,915 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $4,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 152.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE SXT opened at $73.23 on Friday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $82.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

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.