Minerals Technologies Inc. $MTX Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,740 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Minerals Technologies were worth $2,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Minerals Technologies by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,284,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,739,000 after purchasing an additional 216,453 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 911,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,220,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Minerals Technologies by 9.2% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 659,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,323,000 after buying an additional 55,345 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Minerals Technologies by 436.3% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 538,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,632,000 after buying an additional 437,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 532,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,351,000 after buying an additional 3,786 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Minerals Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $84.00.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

MTX opened at $61.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -3,057.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.55. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.54 and a 1 year high of $78.23.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last released 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 negative net margin of 0.08% and a positive return on equity of 10.69%. The company had revenue of $557.00 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brett Argirakis sold 6,501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.68, for a total value of $381,478.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,619,685.36. The trade was a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

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.