California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 33,638 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 192,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,638 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $33,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 74.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 258,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,142,000 after acquiring an additional 109,857 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,434,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,650,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Southern Copper by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 74,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,687,000 after acquiring an additional 10,360 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SCCO. Weiss Ratings cut Southern Copper from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $148.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $148.10.

Southern Copper Stock Up 7.3%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $187.92 on Wednesday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52-week low of $88.73 and a 52-week high of $223.88. The company has a market capitalization of $155.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.76 and a 200-day moving average of $182.80.

Southern Copper’s stock is going to split on Tuesday, August 11th. The 1.012-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 10th.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 72.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,320.74. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 404 shares of company stock worth $74,108. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.