Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 220,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 5,011 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.52% of Sensient Technologies worth $16,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SXT. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 43,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,240,000 after purchasing an additional 9,817 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 31,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,364,000 after buying an additional 7,310 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $280,000. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 7,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $758,445.70. The trade was a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of SXT traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $108.16. 324,687 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,258. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.50 and a 200-day moving average of $82.45. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $115.20.

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

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies's 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.