Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 279 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Stepan were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 9,406.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 9,783 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,948,000 after acquiring an additional 24,721 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 5,436.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 516,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,854,000 after acquiring an additional 507,371 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 323,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,592,000 after acquiring an additional 25,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,201,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,568,000 after purchasing an additional 31,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Kabbes acquired 1,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares in the company, valued at $75,387.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 28th.

Stepan Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $77.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.77 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 12 month low of $63.60 and a 12 month high of $96.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.81.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $556.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $581.30 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 1.58%. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.36%.

About Stepan

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.