GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 17,213.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Sensient Technologies worth $2,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,489 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 27,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 3,806 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG raised its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 158,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,283,000 after buying an additional 40,989 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SXT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, CJS Securities initiated coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a report on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company.

Sensient Technologies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE SXT opened at $94.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $98.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.72.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $392.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sensient Technologies 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 sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About Sensient Technologies

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.