Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 9,653 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 92.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 824 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 9,653 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $59,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in Sensient Technologies by 309.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 77,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,197,000 after buying an additional 58,386 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,364 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,462 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 22.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $8,017,000 after buying an additional 18,235 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SXT. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE SXT traded up $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $94.01. 94,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,274. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 0.63. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $94.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business's fifty day moving average is $74.69 and its 200 day moving average is $75.16.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $387.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies's payout ratio 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.