Grace & White Inc. NY Purchases 25,100 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Grace & White Inc. NY raised its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,100 shares during the period. Stepan accounts for 2.0% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Grace & White Inc. NY owned about 0.55% of Stepan worth $11,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Stepan by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Stepan by 2,141.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Stepan by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Stepan by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 34,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Stepan by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 23,167 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,029,142.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,029,142.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total transaction of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,637 shares of company stock valued at $957,940 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.25. 68,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 77,310. Stepan has a 52 week low of $63.60 and a 52 week high of $100.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 48.43 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.41.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.04). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 1.73%. The company had revenue of $532.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

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.