Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Bought by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 5,436.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 516,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 507,371 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 2.31% of Stepan worth $48,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $254,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Stepan by 0.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 323,931 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,285,000 after buying an additional 2,742 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Stepan by 6.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan in the third quarter worth $307,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Stock Performance

Stepan stock opened at $85.70 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of 51.63 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a one year low of $63.60 and a one year high of $100.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $551.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $575.83 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 4.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Stepan’s payout ratio is 90.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $455,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,274,486.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.