Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Sells 430 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $532,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 33,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,403,000 after acquiring an additional 16,510 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,002 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,418,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SXT opened at $72.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $73.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $82.99.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $376.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $375.10 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 8.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.41 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 55.78%.

Sensient Technologies Company 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.