Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.41

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.41 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd.

Sensient Technologies has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. Sensient Technologies has a payout ratio of 42.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE SXT opened at $94.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 4.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 0.59. Sensient Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $67.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.54.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.06. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 8.72%.The business had revenue of $412.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Essie Whitelaw sold 3,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.02, for a total transaction of $378,654.70. Following the sale, the director owned 17,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,627,502.56. This trade represents a 18.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David J. Plautz purchased 2,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.98 per share, for a total transaction of $199,907.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 2,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,847.02. The trade was a 253.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensient Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,248 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5,807.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 327,654 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,783,000 after acquiring an additional 322,108 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 25,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 10,551 shares during the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.