Summit Global Investments Takes Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Sensient Technologies by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,017,000 after purchasing an additional 18,235 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 1.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,235 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $635,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,385,000 after acquiring an additional 6,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,742,000 after acquiring an additional 6,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE SXT opened at $72.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74 and a beta of 0.71. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.16. Sensient Technologies Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $82.99.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $376.40 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.