Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SXT. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,694,114 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $135,902,000 after purchasing an additional 60,622 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 309.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 77,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,197,000 after purchasing an additional 58,386 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 158,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,283,000 after purchasing an additional 40,989 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 59,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 32,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 55,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,483,000 after purchasing an additional 26,219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SXT opened at $73.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 0.71. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 12 month low of $66.14 and a 12 month high of $82.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.34.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. The company 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%. Sensient Technologies’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded 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.