Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Stake Increased by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 863 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Minerals Technologies were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTX. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 114.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 40.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 38,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 10,965 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 10.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 12,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 8.3% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 17,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 1.7% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 17,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MTX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. CL King raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Minerals Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.00.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

MTX stock opened at $57.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.34. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.38 and a fifty-two week high of $73.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $551.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.70 million. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 9.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. Minerals Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 6.69%.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various specialty mineral, mineral-based, and synthetic mineral products, and supporting systems and services. The company operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Specialty Minerals and Refractories. The Performance Materials segment supplies bentonite and bentonite-related products, as well as leonardite.