Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 7,376 Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Legato Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,262 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,376 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Minerals Technologies were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,761,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $134,276,000 after acquiring an additional 527,206 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 873,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,554,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 861,173 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $65,630,000 after purchasing an additional 204,371 shares during the period. Snyder Capital Management L P grew its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 630,381 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,041,000 after purchasing an additional 49,376 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 6.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 543,547 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,879,000 after purchasing an additional 32,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.29% of the company's stock.

Minerals Technologies Trading Up 10.7%

MTX stock traded up $6.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.54. 607,399 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 264,005. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $57.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 1,092.43 and a beta of 1.20. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $49.54 and a one year high of $87.92.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $528.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $529.13 million. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 0.10%. Minerals Technologies's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Minerals Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 733.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MTX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Minerals Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Minerals Technologies from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Minerals Technologies

In other news, CFO Erik Aldag bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.37 per share, with a total value of $50,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $213,820.65. This trade represents a 30.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristina M. Johnson bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.79 per share, for a total transaction of $53,790.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,306. The trade was a 250.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 2,370 shares of company stock worth $124,255. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.