Man Group plc Sells 10,852 Shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Man Group plc cut its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,829 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 10,852 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.11% of Sensient Technologies worth $3,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $449,288,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,064,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $360,912,000 after buying an additional 36,406 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,257,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $160,836,000 after acquiring an additional 25,230 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,223,728 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $87,203,000 after acquiring an additional 26,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Snyder Capital Management L P raised its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 667,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $47,543,000 after acquiring an additional 48,146 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sensient Technologies

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total transaction of $159,210.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SXT shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com lowered Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

SXT opened at $94.30 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.62 and a 200 day moving average of $76.87. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $98.27.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 8.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is 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.