Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its stake in Southern Copper Corporation by 36.8%, holding 5,965 shares valued at $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
• Southern Copper has increased its dividend to $1.01 per share, which represents a yield of 270.0%, up from the previous dividend of $0.62.
• Several analysts have recently downgraded their ratings on Southern Copper, with targets set around $105.00 and $79.00, indicating mixed sentiments regarding the stock's performance.

Prudential PLC lowered its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 36.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,965 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,466 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SCCO. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,226,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,086,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Southern Copper by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,146,537 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,484,000 after purchasing an additional 355,013 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Southern Copper by 26.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,551,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $145,039,000 after purchasing an additional 322,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $25,739,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $95.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.51, a current ratio of 5.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.86. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.84 and a fifty-two week high of $121.44. The firm has a market cap of $77.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a yield of 270.0%. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous -- dividend of $0.62. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SCCO shares. UBS Group downgraded Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southern Copper from $83.50 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.00.

About Southern Copper

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.

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