Aufman Associates Inc Reduces Stock Position in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Aufman Associates Inc lowered its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,500 shares during the quarter. Minerals Technologies accounts for 1.9% of Aufman Associates Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Aufman Associates Inc’s holdings in Minerals Technologies were worth $2,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,700,000 after buying an additional 4,356 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,268,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,989,000 after acquiring an additional 32,196 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 9.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 115,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,950,000 after acquiring an additional 10,284 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,728,000 after acquiring an additional 8,335 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Minerals Technologies by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 17,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364 shares during the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MTX. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Minerals Technologies from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Minerals Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTX opened at $63.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.10. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.80 and a 1-year high of $90.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.28.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 7.89%. Analysts anticipate that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Minerals Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 8.49%.

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.