Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 474 Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 474 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Minerals Technologies were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTX. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 395.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,334,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,915 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,585,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $177,155,000 after purchasing an additional 341,092 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,001,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 80.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 649,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,451,000 after purchasing an additional 290,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 583,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,649,000 after purchasing an additional 240,350 shares during the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Minerals Technologies Trading Up 0.0 %

MTX opened at $71.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 1.33. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.61 and a fifty-two week high of $76.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $72.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.60.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $524.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $506.67 million. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 3.88% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.44%.

Insider Transactions at Minerals Technologies

In other news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total value of $923,664.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,850,055.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $87,461.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,006,017.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total transaction of $923,664.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,850,055.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MTX. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Minerals Technologies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $68.50.

Minerals Technologies Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.