Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,610 Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX – Get Rating) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,610 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Minerals Technologies worth $12,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 19,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 148.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 14,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 8,694 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 78,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,779,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 18,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.57% of the company’s stock.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTX opened at $57.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.38 and a 1-year high of $73.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.89 and its 200 day moving average is $60.47.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $546.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $527.73 million. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 5.36%. Minerals Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 5.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Sidoti cut Minerals Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Minerals Technologies in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.00.

Insider Activity at Minerals Technologies

In other news, Director Rocky Motwani acquired 822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.82 per share, with a total value of $49,994.04. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,994.04. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Minerals Technologies

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Minerals Technologies, Inc is a resource and technology-based company. It develops, produces, and markets a range of mineral, mineral-based, and synthetic mineral products. It operates through the following four segments: Performance Materials, Specialty Minerals, Refractories and Energy Services. The Performance Materials segment supplies bentonite and bentonite-related products, chromite and leonardite.