Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 671 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 671 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Sensient Technologies worth $3,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 152.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE SXT opened at $75.72 on Thursday. Sensient Technologies Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $82.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.14.

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

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

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.