Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 526 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 526 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Stepan were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Stepan by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the third quarter valued at $161,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Stepan during the third quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Stepan during the third quarter worth $170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $58.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.84. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $94.76.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The business had revenue of $525.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Profile

Stepan Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals to other manufacturers for use in various end products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers surfactants that are used in consumer and industrial cleaning and disinfection products, including detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, and floors and walls, as well as shampoos and body washes; and other applications, such as fabric softeners, germicidal quaternary compounds, disinfectants, and lubricating ingredients.