Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,201,133 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 31,641 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.37% of Stepan worth $113,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Stepan by 2,141.7% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 269 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Stepan by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Stepan in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 645.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Stepan from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total transaction of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 250,676 shares in the company, valued at $21,916,602.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 250,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $455,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 255,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,274,486.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,637 shares of company stock valued at $957,940 over the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Stepan Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of SCL traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $88.54. The stock had a trading volume of 52,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,448. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.59 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Stepan has a 12 month low of $63.60 and a 12 month high of $100.61.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $551.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $575.83 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 4.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.36%.

Stepan Profile

Stepan Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals to other manufacturers for use in various end products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers surfactants that are used in consumer and industrial cleaning and disinfection products, including detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, and floors and walls, as well as shampoos and body washes; and other applications, such as fabric softeners, germicidal quaternary compounds, disinfectants, and lubricating ingredients.