Earnest Partners LLC Sells 44,738 Shares of Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST)

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,560,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 44,738 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Sensata Technologies were worth $42,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Sensata Technologies by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 77,759 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 10,107 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,442 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP bought a new stake in Sensata Technologies in the third quarter worth $292,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 66.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 660,568 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,688,000 after purchasing an additional 264,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 326.8% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 59,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 45,182 shares during the last quarter. 99.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sensata Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Sensata Technologies stock opened at $21.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.56 and a 200 day moving average of $28.36. Sensata Technologies Holding plc has a 12 month low of $17.32 and a 12 month high of $43.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Sensata Technologies had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 3.27%. On average, research analysts expect that Sensata Technologies Holding plc will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensata Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Sensata Technologies’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Sensata Technologies from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Sensata Technologies from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Sensata Technologies in a research note on Friday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Sensata Technologies from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Sensata Technologies from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Sensata Technologies Company Profile

Sensata Technologies Holding plc develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components and systems, and other products used in mission-critical systems and applications in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Sensing and Sensing Solutions.