Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 16,324 Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,324 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $7,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,738,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 1,417.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 407,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,173,000 after buying an additional 381,035 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Southern Copper by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,146,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,484,000 after buying an additional 355,013 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Southern Copper by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 998,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,032,000 after buying an additional 331,319 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,759,000 after buying an additional 217,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCCO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised Southern Copper from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Southern Copper from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $93.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.05. Southern Copper Co. has a 1 year low of $74.11 and a 1 year high of $126.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.24.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 40.27% and a net margin of 29.53%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.27%.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.