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

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 20,231 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.20% of Sensient Technologies worth $6,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 0.3 %

SXT opened at $73.59 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $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. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.71. Sensient Technologies Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $82.99.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 2.23%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.