Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Stepan ( NYSE:SCL – Free Report ) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports.

The fund owned 482,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,324 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $31,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock.



Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Stepan by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter.

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 14.0% in the fourth quarter.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.

raised its position in shares of Stepan by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.

now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 16.0% during the fourth quarter.

Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stepan Stock Performance Stepan stock opened at $46.

95 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.

91. Stepan has a 52 week low of $44.23 and a 52 week high of $94.

77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.

24 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.

21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan ( NYSE:SCL – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.

45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a net margin of 2.

31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. 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 prior year, the company earned $0.

33 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year. Stepan Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th.

Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd.

This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%.

Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.68%. Insider Activity In related news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th.

The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00.

Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.

82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Corporate insiders own 7.

60% of the company’s stock. About Stepan ( Free Report ) 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. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Stepan ( NYSE:SCL – Free Report ).

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