Arizona State Retirement System Sells 168 Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Minerals Technologies were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Minerals Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the third quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 126.1% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Minerals Technologies

In other Minerals Technologies news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total value of $923,664.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares in the company, valued at $3,850,055.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 81,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,006,017.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total value of $923,664.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,850,055.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Minerals Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Minerals Technologies has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.50.

Minerals Technologies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Minerals Technologies stock opened at $70.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.64. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.61 and a 12-month high of $76.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

About Minerals Technologies

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.