Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stake in Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 29.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 9,817 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.10% of Sensient Technologies worth $3,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total transaction of $159,210.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Sensient Technologies Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:SXT traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 400,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,336. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $110.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.59 and a 200-day moving average of $81.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.99 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 8.19% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SXT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. CJS Securities started coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted 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.

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.