Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $273,000 Stock Holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 31.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Stepan by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Stepan during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $324,000. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $53.64 on Wednesday. Stepan has a 1 year low of $44.23 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The company had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $562.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Stepan’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Stepan Company 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.