Heartland Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 20,231 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $6,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SXT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,757,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 200,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,304,000 after acquiring an additional 100,788 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,064,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $360,912,000 after acquiring an additional 36,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $556,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SXT opened at $73.59 on Friday. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $82.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.55.

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

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.78%.

Sensient Technologies 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.