Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stock Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,427 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.23% of Stepan worth $17,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Stepan by 781.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Stepan by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Stepan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Stepan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL traded down $0.43 during trading on Monday, reaching $55.64. 77,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 121,038. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. Stepan has a 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.15. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18 and a beta of 1.00.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The business had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday.

Stepan Company 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.