Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stock Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,257,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,230 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 5.33% of Sensient Technologies worth $160,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% in 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 bought a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 49.4% in 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. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total transaction of $159,210.60. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE SXT traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $94.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 345,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,988. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11 and a beta of 0.58. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $99.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $392.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $387.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.30%.

Sensient Technologies 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.