Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its Southern Copper stake by 22.3% in the first quarter, selling 18,559 shares and ending with 64,560 shares worth about $11.1 million.
• Several other large institutional investors, including State Street, Fisher Asset Management, UBS AM, MIRAE ASSET, and Vanguard, also held sizable positions, and institutions collectively owned 7.94% of Southern Copper’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average price target of $147.10, even though some firms recently raised targets and Zacks upgraded the stock to strong-buy.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,560 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 18,559 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $11,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $410,646,000 after purchasing an additional 66,268 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $363,873,000 after buying an additional 7,194 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,181,293 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $169,480,000 after buying an additional 90,237 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Southern Copper by 12.8% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $132,479,000 after buying an additional 123,532 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 983,822 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $141,149,000 after buying an additional 33,804 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Scotiabank restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research raised Southern Copper from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Southern Copper from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Southern Copper in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an "underweight" rating and a $148.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $147.10.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $174.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.37. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $88.73 and a 12 month high of $223.88. The firm has a market cap of $144.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 404 shares of company stock valued at $74,108. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation NYSE: SCCO is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper's operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.