Cwm LLC Sells 374 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Cwm LLC reduced its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. Cwm LLC owned 0.05% of Stepan worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Stepan by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,165,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,317,000 after acquiring an additional 162,560 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the third quarter valued at about $4,286,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Stepan by 62.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 87,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,531,000 after buying an additional 33,421 shares during the period. Grace & White Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Stepan by 21.6% during the third quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 97,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,328,000 after buying an additional 17,350 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the third quarter valued at about $1,083,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Stepan Stock Up 1.0 %

SCL stock opened at $83.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.31 and its 200 day moving average is $85.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99 and a beta of 0.83. Stepan has a 1-year low of $63.60 and a 1-year high of $100.61.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $532.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.48 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 1.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,029,142.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,029,142.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Company 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.