Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 210,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,744 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $15,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Schweiz AG raised its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 92,840 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,127,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 16.7% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 200,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,899,000 after buying an additional 28,788 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $736,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,161,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,657,000 after buying an additional 129,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 31.6% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,841 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares during the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SXT has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Sensient Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

SXT opened at $75.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.13 and a beta of 0.75. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $52.90 and a 1-year high of $82.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 4.16 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $403.53 million during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 76.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gebhardt Deborah Mckeithan sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.08, for a total transaction of $142,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,077,714.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Sensient Technologies

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.