Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,027 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $25,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $781,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708,693 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,795,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $339,320,000 after buying an additional 40,847 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 12.8% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,479,000 after acquiring an additional 123,532 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern Copper by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 983,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $141,149,000 after purchasing an additional 33,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 955,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $116,012,000 after buying an additional 14,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $171.68 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.16. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $86.59 and a 1 year high of $223.88.

Shares of Southern Copper are set to split before the market opens on Wednesday, May 13th. The 1.01-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, May 12th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 47.03%. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 75.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SCCO. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $145.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

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

Southern Copper 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.