Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC lessened its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 52.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,461 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 57,513 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Stepan worth $3,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 781.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter valued at about $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday.

Stepan Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of SCL traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.86. The company had a trading volume of 80,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,752. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $51.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stepan has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 1.00.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $562.77 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. Stepan's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

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.