Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,884 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,775 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.31% of Sensient Technologies worth $9,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,064,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $360,912,000 after acquiring an additional 36,406 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,223,728 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $87,203,000 after acquiring an additional 26,119 shares during the period. Snyder Capital Management L P raised its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 667,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $47,543,000 after acquiring an additional 48,146 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,757,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,830,000 after buying an additional 10,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total value of $159,210.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $758,445.70. This represents a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SXT traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $93.91. 193,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 222,204. Sensient Technologies Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $98.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.17.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $392.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 8.01%. The company's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SXT has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Sensient Technologies Company 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.