Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) Position Trimmed by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 448,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 42,917 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.06% of Sensient Technologies worth $33,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXT. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 132.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 435 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 920 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company's stock.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE SXT traded down $0.51 on Friday, reaching $109.01. 311,669 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,927. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $110.70. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $98.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.56.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.19% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $392.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Sensient Technologies's payout ratio is currently 54.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the director owned 7,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $758,445.70. This represents a 17.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SXT. CJS Securities assumed coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Sensient Technologies from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd.

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.