Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 4,160 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 42.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,160 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 182,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,290,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,908,000 after purchasing an additional 27,744 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Southern Copper by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 146,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,510,000 after purchasing an additional 7,572 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Southern Copper by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 186,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,567,000 after purchasing an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 148.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,514 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,690,000 after buying an additional 60,617 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 404 shares of company stock valued at $77,077 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $198.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $187.43 and its 200 day moving average is $184.04. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.87 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The company has a market cap of $165.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 64.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCCO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 price target (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $146.84.

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.