Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 90,973 Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 90,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,483,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Sensient Technologies by 66.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 58,643 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,704,000 after acquiring an additional 23,474 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 135.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 23,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,850,000 after buying an additional 13,279 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the third quarter worth about $471,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 590,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $47,342,000 after buying an additional 7,235 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,874,000 after buying an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SXT opened at $72.75 on Monday. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $82.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.10 and a 200-day moving average of $75.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74 and a beta of 0.71.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $376.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.10 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 8.01%. Sensient Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.78%.

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.