M&T Bank Corp Decreases Holdings in Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 65.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 25,824 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 132.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 435 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 920 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,946 shares in the company, valued at $758,445.70. The trade was a 17.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SXT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Sensient Technologies from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, CJS Securities initiated coverage on Sensient Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock.

Sensient Technologies Stock Up 1.0%

Sensient Technologies stock traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $109.41. 360,427 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,091. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $98.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23 and a beta of 0.56. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $110.70.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.19% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $392.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Sensient Technologies's payout ratio is 54.30%.

About Sensient Technologies

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.