Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 6,542 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 325,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,542 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.45% of Stepan worth $27,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 229.9% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 8,870 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,201,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,568,000 after acquiring an additional 31,641 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,869,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 323,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,592,000 after acquiring an additional 25,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 9,406.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 9,783 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kabbes purchased 1,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.39 per share, for a total transaction of $75,387.84. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,387.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Stepan Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $74.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 44.67 and a beta of 0.80. Stepan has a twelve month low of $63.60 and a twelve month high of $96.68.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $556.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $581.30 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 3.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio 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.