Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,984 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Sensient Technologies worth $15,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company's stock.

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Sensient Technologies Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE SXT traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.35. The company had a trading volume of 266,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,570. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.69 and a 200 day moving average of $75.39. Sensient Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $64.76 and a 1-year 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 capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 0.77.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $376.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Sensient Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

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.