Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $193.35 Million Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in Southern Copper Corporation by 44.1%, selling 1,632,028 shares and leaving it with 2,068,816 shares valued at approximately $193.35 million.
• Southern Copper recently increased its dividend to $1.01 per share, a rise from $0.62, resulting in a remarkable dividend yield of 270.0%.
• Wall Street analysts have generally downgraded Southern Copper, with multiple firms issuing "hold" and "neutral" ratings, and an average target price set at $91.00.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,068,816 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,632,028 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.26% of Southern Copper worth $193,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 117.6% during the 1st 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 733 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Itau BBA Securities raised Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $99.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southern Copper from $83.50 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $91.00.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 2,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE SCCO traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $96.19. The stock had a trading volume of 704,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,719. The company has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $98.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.01. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52 week low of $74.84 and a 52 week high of $121.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 270.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper's previous -- dividend of $0.62. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.