Jane Street Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 53.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,803 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 28,504 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Sensient Technologies worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 55,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,624 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 185,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $13,218,000 after purchasing an additional 7,148 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 6,247 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 309.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 77,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,197,000 after purchasing an additional 58,386 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sensient Technologies

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total value of $159,210.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $758,445.70. The trade was a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

Shares of SXT traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.91. The stock had a trading volume of 193,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,745. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 0.58. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $98.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.43 and a 200 day moving average of $77.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.55.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $392.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SXT. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies 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.