Howe & Rusling Inc. Has $275,000 Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Stepan by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $165,671,000 after purchasing an additional 25,841 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,328,000 after buying an additional 17,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,626,000 after buying an additional 4,777 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,188,000 after buying an additional 54,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 403,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,100,000 after acquiring an additional 29,179 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $57.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a 1 year low of $56.20 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.67.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.68%.

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.