Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Buys 18,364 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,364 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned 0.40% of Sensient Technologies worth $12,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $155,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,124 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SXT. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SXT stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 204,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,261. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24 and a beta of 0.58. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $98.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now directly owns 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.