Invesco Ltd. Has $9.43 Million Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 145,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,846 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.65% of Stepan worth $9,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in Stepan by 238.4% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 10,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 7,542 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,545,000. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Stepan

In related news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Stock Performance

SCL opened at $48.65 on Thursday. Stepan has a 1 year low of $44.23 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $525.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 69.68%.

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.