B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Makes New $1.34 Million Investment in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG has acquired a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation, purchasing 14,312 shares valued at approximately $1.34 million.
• Southern Copper recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.62 to $1.01 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.2%.
• Several analysts have downgraded their ratings on Southern Copper, with JPMorgan reducing its price target from $83.50 to $79.00 and UBS lowering its rating from "buy" to "neutral."

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,312 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.7% during the first quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 15,077 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Balefire LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 3.0% during the first quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 4,779 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 6.4% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Centerstone Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Centerstone Investors LLC now owns 23,438 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.7% during the first quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 20,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $41,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO traded up $3.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.67. 1,200,289 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,405,306. The company has a market cap of $80.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.02.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.01 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.02%.

Southern Copper 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.