Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 5,436.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 516,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 507,371 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $48,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,165,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,317,000 after buying an additional 162,560 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,286,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 87,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,531,000 after buying an additional 33,421 shares in the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its position in Stepan by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 122,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,615,000 after buying an additional 25,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Stepan by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,948,000 after buying an additional 24,721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,029,142.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 sale, the director now directly owns 250,676 shares in the company, valued at $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,637 shares of company stock valued at $957,940. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Stepan Stock Up 0.1 %

SCL opened at $85.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.63 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a 12 month low of $63.60 and a 12 month high of $100.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $86.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $551.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $575.83 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.04% and a net margin of 1.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.36%.

Stepan Company Profile

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.