Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $3.95 Million Holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 6,624 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.13% of Sensient Technologies worth $3,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,064,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $360,912,000 after acquiring an additional 36,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,757,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,830,000 after purchasing an additional 10,884 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,385,000 after buying an additional 6,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 100.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 200,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,304,000 after buying an additional 100,788 shares in the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Sensient Technologies stock traded up $10.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.04. 1,458,610 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 202,746. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.83. Sensient Technologies Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 0.63.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $392.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.70 million. On average, research analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 55.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd.

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.