Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 14.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,623 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,354 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SXT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,389,711 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $355,721,000 after buying an additional 64,683 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 12.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 129,386 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $36,188,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 545,922 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,031,000 after purchasing an additional 32,006 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 541,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,211,000 after purchasing an additional 27,967 shares during the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gebhardt Deborah Mckeithan sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.08, for a total transaction of $142,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,077,714.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SXT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Sensient Technologies Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SXT opened at $75.31 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 4.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 52 week low of $52.90 and a 52 week high of $82.99.

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

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.28%.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

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.