Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 7,464 Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 58,643 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,704,000 after acquiring an additional 23,474 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 23,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 13,279 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $471,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 590,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $47,342,000 after acquiring an additional 7,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares in the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 1.8 %

SXT stock opened at $72.75 on Friday. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $82.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.