Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 9.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 150,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 16,231 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $11,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SXT. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Sensient Technologies by 44,075.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $129,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Janney Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Sensient Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gebhardt Deborah Mckeithan sold 2,000 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.08, for a total transaction of $142,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,077,714.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of SXT stock opened at $73.64 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.18. Sensient Technologies Co. has a twelve month low of $52.90 and a twelve month high of $82.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 4.16, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $403.53 million for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.28%.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

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.