Advocate Group LLC Sells 5,560 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Advocate Group LLC cut its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,560 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $4,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Southern Copper by 42.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 13,293 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 21.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 21.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 75,319 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,620,000 after buying an additional 13,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 63.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 7,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $116.51 price objective (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.20.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This trade represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,373 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $177.99 on Friday. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $74.84 and a one year high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.89 and a quick ratio of 3.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.16.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper’s operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.