Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Bought by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Stepan by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan in the third quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Stepan during the third quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Stepan in the third quarter worth $170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Stepan stock opened at $57.39 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.75. Stepan has a 12-month low of $56.50 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97 and a beta of 0.82.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The business had revenue of $525.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. Stepan’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

About Stepan

Stepan Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals to other manufacturers for use in various end products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers surfactants that are used in consumer and industrial cleaning and disinfection products, including detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, and floors and walls, as well as shampoos and body washes; and other applications, such as fabric softeners, germicidal quaternary compounds, disinfectants, and lubricating ingredients.