IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Lowers Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,087 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd owned 0.07% of Sensient Technologies worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,064,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $360,912,000 after purchasing an additional 36,406 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,694,114 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $135,902,000 after buying an additional 60,622 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,455 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,143,000 after acquiring an additional 15,868 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Sensient Technologies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,830,000 after acquiring an additional 10,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,385,000 after acquiring an additional 6,984 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Sensient Technologies stock opened at $73.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.13. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $82.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 0.71.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $376.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $375.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd.

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.