Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Buys New Stake in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MTX. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 640,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,097,000 after acquiring an additional 39,112 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 825.0% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Corbyn Investment Management Inc. MD acquired a new position in Minerals Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $1,506,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in Minerals Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $235,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Minerals Technologies

In other Minerals Technologies news, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 81,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,006,017.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,850,055.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the company’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 transaction of $87,461.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,006,017.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTX opened at $72.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.61 and a fifty-two week high of $76.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.29. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 1.33.

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

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.