Jane Street Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Jane Street Group LLC cut its holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 53.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,803 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 28,504 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.06% of Sensient Technologies worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SXT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $45,757,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $24,490,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $7,270,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 100.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 200,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,304,000 after purchasing an additional 100,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $6,483,000. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sensient Technologies

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total value of $159,210.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $758,445.70. This represents a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 0.1%

SXT stock opened at $94.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Sensient Technologies Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $98.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.49.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $392.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 54.30%.

Sensient Technologies 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.