PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $185,000 Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Stepan by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,328,000 after acquiring an additional 17,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Stepan by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 403,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,100,000 after purchasing an additional 29,179 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 321,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,794,000 after purchasing an additional 23,855 shares during the period. Finally, Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 309,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Stock Performance

SCL stock opened at $58.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.04. Stepan has a 1-year low of $56.50 and a 1-year high of $94.77.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $525.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

Insider Activity at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.