Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Position in Sensient Technologies Corporation $SXT

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,615 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $1,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $11,001,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $77,955,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $962,000. Yost Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Yost Capital Management LP now owns 130,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,279,000 after purchasing an additional 44,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Owls Nest Partners IA LLC acquired a new position in Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $19,297,000. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SXT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Sensient Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Sensient Technologies from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Sensient Technologies from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE SXT opened at $132.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.40. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.60 and a 1-year high of $136.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.17. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 9.27%.The firm had revenue of $462.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $448.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sensient Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.48, for a total value of $155,376.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,352 shares in the company, valued at $951,936.96. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Sensient Technologies

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.