Jane Street Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Jane Street Group LLC lessened its stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,307 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 15,825 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.13% of Sensient Technologies worth $4,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Sensient Technologies during the second quarter worth about $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $129,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 2,753.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael C. Geraghty sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $321,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,938,968.64. This trade represents a 9.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Sensient Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:SXT traded down $2.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.79. 183,721 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,624. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.74. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.53. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1 year low of $55.02 and a 1 year high of $82.99.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The business had revenue of $392.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.47%.

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.