Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 23,855 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,855 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.43% of Stepan worth $20,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCL. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 409.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 92,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,111,000 after acquiring an additional 73,976 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Stepan by 11.0% during the third quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 309,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,703 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,460,000 after buying an additional 28,655 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,031,000 after buying an additional 23,626 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Stepan by 4,144.2% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 20,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after acquiring an additional 19,602 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE SCL opened at $57.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stepan has a 1-year low of $56.50 and a 1-year high of $94.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.29 and a 200-day moving average of $70.24.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted 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 return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s payout ratio is presently 69.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.