Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 70,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $5,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 152.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

Shares of SXT opened at $73.39 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $73.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.15. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $82.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.