Axiom Investors LLC DE Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its holdings in Southern Copper Corporation by 7.6%, owning 172,633 shares valued at approximately $16.13 million after purchasing an additional 12,237 shares in the first quarter.
• Southern Copper recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.01 per share, up from $0.62, which represents a 3.9% dividend yield.
• Analyst ratings for Southern Copper are mixed, with Morgan Stanley reiterating an "underweight" rating and setting a new price target of $99.00, while UBS downgraded its rating from "buy" to "neutral" with a target of $105.00.

Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,237 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $16,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 117.6% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the first quarter worth about $29,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP increased its position in Southern Copper by 583.5% in the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 622 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO traded up $1.17 on Friday, reaching $106.22. 1,606,398 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,014,718. The company's 50-day moving average price is $98.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.99. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.84 and a fifty-two week high of $121.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 5.27 and a quick ratio of 4.51.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $41,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,327 shares in the company, valued at $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,228 shares of company stock worth $123,102. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SCCO. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $93.60.

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.