Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 18,854 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,854 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.66% of Stepan worth $28,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Stepan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $679,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Stepan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,195,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Stepan by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Stepan by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Stepan by 7,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 8,085 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.28. 70,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 94,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $96.68. The company's 50 day moving average is $75.65 and its 200 day moving average is $79.23.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This is an increase from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 17th.

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.