Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $75.30 and last traded at $75.4950, with a volume of 4274 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Minerals Technologies from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Minerals Technologies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.00.

Minerals Technologies Stock Down 0.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -143.52 and a beta of 1.27.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $519.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $517.83 million. Minerals Technologies had a negative net margin of 0.89% and a positive return on equity of 10.22%. Minerals Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Minerals Technologies’s payout ratio is currently -94.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brett Argirakis sold 6,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.68, for a total transaction of $381,478.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,685.36. This trade represents a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 23,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.90, for a total transaction of $1,429,456.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 84,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,221,203.10. This represents a 21.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTX. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 4.9% in the second quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 3.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 29,716 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,636,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

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.