PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 424 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 424 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,188,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,325,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $311,408,000 after acquiring an additional 457,446 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,688,101 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,617,000 after acquiring an additional 303,612 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 12.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,550,000. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on SXT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Sensient Technologies from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 15th.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

Shares of SXT opened at $74.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 4.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.13. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 52-week low of $52.90 and a 52-week high of $78.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44 and a beta of 0.76.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 6.16%. The business had revenue of $384.67 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Essie Whitelaw sold 1,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total transaction of $78,552.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,766.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Essie Whitelaw sold 1,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total transaction of $78,552.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,766.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven B. Morris sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total value of $29,188.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,863.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,037 shares of company stock valued at $153,245 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.