Man Group plc Sells 10,852 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Man Group plc cut its holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,829 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,852 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.11% of Sensient Technologies worth $3,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $449,288,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,064,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $360,912,000 after purchasing an additional 36,406 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,257,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $160,836,000 after purchasing an additional 25,230 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,223,728 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $87,203,000 after purchasing an additional 26,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snyder Capital Management L P grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 667,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $47,543,000 after purchasing an additional 48,146 shares in the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total transaction of $159,210.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $758,445.70. This trade represents a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SXT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 1.4%

SXT traded up $1.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.23. The company had a trading volume of 173,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,010. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.29. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week 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.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sensient Technologies's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.30%.

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.