Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,514 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,882 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.39% of Stepan worth $17,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCL. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Stepan by 781.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Stepan by 124.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stepan by 67.9% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the first quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in shares of Stepan by 24.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:SCL traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.35. 100,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,041. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Stepan Company has a 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $91.92. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $55.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.94.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a net margin of 2.53% and a return on equity of 4.61%. The business had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th.

Stepan Profile

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.