Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.16 Million in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,162,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 6.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,737,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,159,000 after purchasing an additional 104,982 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 1.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,241,758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,999,000 after purchasing an additional 17,742 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 644,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,928,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 5.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 458,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,126,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 65.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 251,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,749,000 after purchasing an additional 99,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

Minerals Technologies stock opened at $72.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.61 and a 12-month high of $76.80.

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. The firm had revenue of $524.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $506.67 million. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 3.88% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MTX shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $68.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $87,461.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,006,017.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Minerals Technologies news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,850,055.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction 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. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.