Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Purchases Shares of 9,254 Minerals Technologies Inc. $MTX

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 9,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTX. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 436.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 538,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,632,000 after buying an additional 437,734 shares in the last quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $16,926,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,284,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,739,000 after acquiring an additional 216,453 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 496,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,327,000 after acquiring an additional 103,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,884,000. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTX opened at $66.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.16. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3,316.14 and a beta of 1.27. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.54 and a 12 month high of $78.23.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Minerals Technologies had a positive return on equity of 10.69% and a negative net margin of 0.08%.The company had revenue of $557.00 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from Minerals Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 30th. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2,400.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $84.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Minerals Technologies news, insider Brett Argirakis sold 6,501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.68, for a total value of $381,478.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,685.36. This represents a 19.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 23,093 shares of Minerals Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.90, for a total transaction of $1,429,456.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,349 shares in the company, valued at $5,221,203.10. The trade was a 21.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Minerals Technologies Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces and processes a broad range of mineral-based products and solutions that serve a variety of industrial applications. Its offerings include bentonite, perlite, precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), mineral sands, foundry additives, performance minerals and specialty chemicals designed to enhance performance in markets such as paper, steel, construction, oil and gas, environmental remediation and consumer products.

The company operates through several business segments, including Specialty Minerals, Refractory Minerals, Performance Materials and Recycled Materials.