Eagle Asset Management Inc. Has $6.87 Million Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,909 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $6,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 6.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,959 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies in the first quarter valued at $400,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Sensient Technologies by 9.9% in the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,081 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Sensient Technologies by 170.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 4,993 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SXT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Sensient Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael C. Geraghty sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total value of $321,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,518 shares in the company, valued at $2,938,968.64. This trade represents a 9.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE SXT opened at $78.67 on Monday. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $55.02 and a 1-year high of $82.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.31. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The business had revenue of $392.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.64 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 78.47%.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

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.