Champlain Investment Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 975,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 50,121 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned about 2.30% of Sensient Technologies worth $69,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SXT. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 920 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 152.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 0.7 %

SXT opened at $74.21 on Thursday. Sensient Technologies Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $82.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.78.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $376.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $375.10 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is 55.78%.

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.