State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Buys 1,332 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.06% of Sensient Technologies worth $2,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,218,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 3.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,208,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,683,000 after purchasing an additional 39,290 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 565.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 40,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 34,367 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 28,788 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 27,967 shares in the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Sensient Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Sensient Technologies Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Sensient Technologies stock opened at $78.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.17. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1 year low of $55.02 and a 1 year high of $82.99.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $392.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.64 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.41%. Sensient Technologies’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is 78.47%.

Insider Activity at Sensient Technologies

In other news, insider Michael C. Geraghty sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total value of $321,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,938,968.64. This trade represents a 9.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.