Cwm LLC Sells 374 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Cwm LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 374 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $1,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Stepan by 2,141.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in Stepan during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Stepan by 277.5% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Stepan during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Stepan during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $83.98 on Friday. Stepan has a twelve month low of $63.60 and a twelve month high of $100.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.04). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 1.73%. The firm had revenue of $532.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $455,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,274,486.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $455,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,274,486.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Stepan

Stepan Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals to other manufacturers for use in various end products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers surfactants that are used in consumer and industrial cleaning and disinfection products, including detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, and floors and walls, as well as shampoos and body washes; and other applications, such as fabric softeners, germicidal quaternary compounds, disinfectants, and lubricating ingredients.