Nuveen Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 330,383 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,194 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.78% of Sensient Technologies worth $23,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $449,288,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 0.7% during the 4th 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 stake 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 worth $160,836,000 after acquiring an additional 25,230 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 worth $87,203,000 after acquiring an additional 26,119 shares during the period. Finally, Snyder Capital Management L P grew its stake 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 worth $47,543,000 after acquiring an additional 48,146 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the company'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 now directly owns 7,946 shares in the company, valued at $758,445.70. This represents a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SXT stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $95.15. The company had a trading volume of 82,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,654. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36 and a beta of 0.58. Sensient Technologies Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $99.00.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $392.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 1.72%. Sensient Technologies's payout ratio is currently 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.