Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 907 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Stepan were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Stepan during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,286,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter worth $258,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 4th quarter worth $1,002,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Stepan during the third quarter valued at about $1,083,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Stepan by 62.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 87,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 33,421 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $455,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,274,486.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $455,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,274,486.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL opened at $83.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.01 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $86.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.40. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $63.60 and a fifty-two week high of $100.61.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $551.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $575.83 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 1.73%. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Stepan’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

About Stepan

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.