CI Investments Inc. Sells 12,800 Shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation $SXT

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. cut its Sensient Technologies stake by 16.7% in the first quarter, selling 12,800 shares and leaving it with 63,644 shares worth about $5.5 million.
• Sensient Technologies reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.04 EPS on revenue of $435.83 million, both above analyst estimates, with revenue up 11.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a $134 average price target, though Zacks recently downgraded it to hold.

CI Investments Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,644 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 12,800 shares during the quarter. CI Investments Inc. owned about 0.15% of Sensient Technologies worth $5,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SXT. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,675 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 594 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sensient Technologies

In other news, VP Thierry Hoang sold 400 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction of $46,076.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 13,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,602,177.71. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of SXT opened at $117.44 on Friday. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.60 and a 1-year high of $129.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 5.01 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $116.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.09.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $435.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $411.39 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 13.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Sensient Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Sensient Technologies from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.00.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.

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