SG Americas Securities LLC Buys Shares of 2,212 Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTX. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Minerals Technologies by 114.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Minerals Technologies by 40.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 10,965 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Minerals Technologies by 10.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in Minerals Technologies by 8.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Minerals Technologies by 1.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 97.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MTX. StockNews.com upgraded Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Minerals Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Minerals Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Minerals Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.50.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Minerals Technologies stock opened at $71.88 on Tuesday. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $48.61 and a one year high of $76.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.60 and its 200-day moving average is $65.45.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.03. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 3.88%. The business had revenue of $524.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $506.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Minerals Technologies’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Minerals Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 15.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $87,461.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 81,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,006,017.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Minerals Technologies news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total transaction of $923,664.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,850,055.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $87,461.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 81,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,006,017.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.