Citigroup Inc. Buys 26,219 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 88.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,219 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Sensient Technologies worth $4,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the second quarter worth $4,218,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,208,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,683,000 after purchasing an additional 39,290 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 565.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 40,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 34,367 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 541,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,211,000 after purchasing an additional 27,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 66.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 58,643 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,704,000 after purchasing an additional 23,474 shares in the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sensient Technologies news, insider Michael C. Geraghty sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $321,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,938,968.64. This represents a 9.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

SXT stock opened at $78.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $55.02 and a 1-year high of $82.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The business had revenue of $392.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.64 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is 78.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Sensient Technologies 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.