UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Decreases Holdings in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• UBS AM reduced its stake in Southern Copper Corporation by 4.3%, now holding approximately $114.53 million worth of shares after selling 54,879 shares.
• Southern Copper has increased its quarterly dividend to $1.01 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.62, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.8%.
• Recent analyst ratings for Southern Copper include upgrades and downgrades, with Morgan Stanley maintaining an "underweight" rating while raising its price target to $99.00.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC decreased its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,225,407 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 54,879 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.15% of Southern Copper worth $114,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in Southern Copper by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 17,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its stake in Southern Copper by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 172,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,134,000 after purchasing an additional 12,237 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 44,531 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $232,700. This represents a 15.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,228 shares of company stock worth $123,102 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $93.60.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $107.12. 477,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,406,081. The business's 50 day moving average is $98.47 and its 200-day moving average is $94.80. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $74.84 and a 1 year high of $121.44. The company has a market capitalization of $86.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.99. 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 quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is currently 70.02%.

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.