Vantage Investment Partners LLC Sells 16,518 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Vantage Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,518 shares during the period. Southern Copper comprises 1.2% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $18,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $781,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708,693 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 65.4% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 467,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,258,000 after acquiring an additional 184,641 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 54.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 505,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,321,000 after acquiring an additional 178,350 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 187.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 219,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,582,000 after acquiring an additional 142,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 81.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 286,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,963,000 after acquiring an additional 128,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO stock opened at $179.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 4.38 and a quick ratio of 3.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.41. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $88.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.07.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 66.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at $321,320.74. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 500 shares of company stock valued at $88,412. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SCCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America cut shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $145.14.

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.