Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 888 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $165,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Stepan by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,328,000 after purchasing an additional 17,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,188,000 after purchasing an additional 54,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 403,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,100,000 after purchasing an additional 29,179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $48.17 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80 and a beta of 0.97. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $46.52 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.68%.

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.