Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 9,817 Shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 29.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,817 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.10% of Sensient Technologies worth $3,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in Sensient Technologies by 52.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sensient Technologies

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 7,946 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SXT. Robert W. Baird boosted 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, July 3rd. 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 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:SXT traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $108.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 314,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,048. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $110.82. 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 capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.21 and a 200-day moving average of $82.08.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid 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 1.51%. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.