International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 7,700.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,085 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Stepan were worth $633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 1st quarter valued at $648,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 36.3% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 70,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,337,000 after buying an additional 18,733 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $679,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Stepan by 5.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 49.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,173 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 3,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Stepan
Stepan Price Performance
SCL traded up $6.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 189,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,605. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.57. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.34 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $96.68.
Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.
Stepan Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan's payout ratio is currently 74.63%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, VP David Kabbes acquired 1,056 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.39 per share, for a total transaction of $75,387.84. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,387.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Stepan
(
Free Report)
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.
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