International Assets Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 9,406.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 9,783 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. Burney Co. grew its position in Stepan by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 2,141.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Stepan by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 34,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 23,167 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,029,142.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $455,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,274,486.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Up 0.6 %

SCL opened at $85.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.71 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.52. 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.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Stepan had a net margin of 1.73% and a return on equity of 4.20%. The business had revenue of $532.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $534.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Stepan 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.