Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 6,979 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,979 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $32,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Southern Copper by 36.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $781,268,000 after buying an additional 1,708,693 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Southern Copper by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,795,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $339,320,000 after buying an additional 40,847 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Southern Copper by 12.8% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,479,000 after buying an additional 123,532 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Southern Copper by 1.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 955,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $116,012,000 after buying an additional 14,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern Copper by 11.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 950,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,294,000 after buying an additional 96,013 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SCCO. Bank of America downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $186.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $144.79.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at $126,783.04. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,373 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $188.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.58. The firm has a market cap of $153.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.89. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52-week low of $84.97 and a 52-week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Southern Copper Company 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.