Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Position Raised by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 403,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,179 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.79% of Stepan worth $26,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 13.7% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 25,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after buying an additional 3,073 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 43.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 82.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 32,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 14,673 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 19,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 24.8% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Stepan Price Performance

NYSE SCL opened at $58.12 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. Stepan has a 1 year low of $56.50 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stepan Profile

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.