Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,094 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Stepan worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the third quarter worth $254,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 0.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 323,931 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,285,000 after acquiring an additional 2,742 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 6.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY boosted 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 worth $7,328,000 after acquiring an additional 17,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the third quarter worth $307,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,029,142.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 owns 250,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940 over the last 90 days. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL stock opened at $83.98 on Friday. Stepan has a 52 week low of $63.60 and a 52 week high of $100.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.99 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Stepan Dividend Announcement

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

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.