Creative Planning Sells 3,486 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Creative Planning lessened its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 37.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,486 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Stepan were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Stepan in the first quarter valued at $648,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 36.3% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 70,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,337,000 after buying an additional 18,733 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the second quarter valued at about $679,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 49.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 3,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Stepan Stock Up 9.1 %

NYSE SCL opened at $81.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.34 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $96.68. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.91 and its 200 day moving average is $80.57.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.63%.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In related news, VP David Kabbes purchased 1,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares in the company, valued at $75,387.84. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.00% 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.