State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.14% of Stepan worth $2,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burney Co. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position 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 buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position 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 buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $21,916,602.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $21,916,602.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,637 shares of company stock valued at $957,940 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $83.98 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.86. Stepan has a 52-week low of $63.60 and a 52-week high of $100.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.99 and a beta of 0.83.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $532.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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.