Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Stock Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 18,766.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,694,114 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $135,902,000 after buying an additional 60,622 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,455 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,143,000 after buying an additional 15,868 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 590,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $47,342,000 after buying an additional 7,235 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 158,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,283,000 after purchasing an additional 40,989 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Sensient Technologies stock opened at $74.00 on Wednesday. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $82.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.85 and a 200-day moving average of $75.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.55.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $376.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $375.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

About Sensient Technologies

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.