Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Sold by Ramirez Asset Management Inc.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,871 shares during the quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $4,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Level Four Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $319,000. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $2,862,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at $52,738,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Down 0.8 %

SCCO stock opened at $96.90 on Friday. Southern Copper Co. has a one year low of $84.33 and a one year high of $127.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.49 and a 200-day moving average of $100.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.42.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.