Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 689,661 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 98.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 689,661 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Stepan were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the first quarter worth $648,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Stepan in the 2nd quarter worth about $679,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Stepan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,195,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.76. 106,922 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,147. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.61. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $96.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is a boost from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.62%.

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.