Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in Minerals Technologies Inc. $MTX

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) by 17.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,740 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.14% of Minerals Technologies worth $2,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 161.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 626.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 136.2% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $84.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brett Argirakis sold 6,501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.68, for a total value of $381,478.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,619,685.36. This trade represents a 19.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of MTX opened at $61.18 on Wednesday. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.54 and a 12 month high of $78.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -3,057.22 and a beta of 1.27.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Minerals Technologies had a positive return on equity of 10.69% and a negative net margin of 0.08%.The firm had revenue of $557.00 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Minerals Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 30th. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2,400.00%.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces and processes a broad range of mineral-based products and solutions that serve a variety of industrial applications. Its offerings include bentonite, perlite, precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), mineral sands, foundry additives, performance minerals and specialty chemicals designed to enhance performance in markets such as paper, steel, construction, oil and gas, environmental remediation and consumer products.

The company operates through several business segments, including Specialty Minerals, Refractory Minerals, Performance Materials and Recycled Materials.