New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 4,700 Shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,965 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of Sensient Technologies worth $4,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SXT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 435 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 920 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 152.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sensient Technologies

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total transaction of $159,210.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SXT. CJS Securities began coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Sensient Technologies from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

SXT traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $107.20. The company had a trading volume of 474,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 4.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 0.56. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $108.22. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $95.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.22.

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

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 54.30%.

Sensient Technologies Company 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.