Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 46,179 Shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation $SXT

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,962,758 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 46,179 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Sensient Technologies worth $465,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SXT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,261,000 after purchasing an additional 31,777 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 42.6% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 14.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 165,628 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,544,000 after buying an additional 20,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 23,748 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sensient Technologies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.00.

Insider Transactions at Sensient Technologies

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Essie Whitelaw sold 3,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.02, for a total value of $378,654.70. Following the sale, the director owned 17,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,627,502.56. The trade was a 18.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sensient Technologies Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of SXT opened at $96.95 on Thursday. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a 52 week low of $67.79 and a 52 week high of $121.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 4.10.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.06). Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $393.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sensient Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.