Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Bought by Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 58.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 533,640 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 197,209 shares during the period. Southern Copper comprises approximately 1.5% of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. owned 0.07% of Southern Copper worth $48,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Southern Copper by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,402,983 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $162,283,000 after purchasing an additional 599,610 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,738,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 1,417.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 407,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,173,000 after purchasing an additional 381,035 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Southern Copper by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,146,537 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $104,484,000 after acquiring an additional 355,013 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 998,923 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $91,032,000 after purchasing an additional 331,319 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE SCCO traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.06. The stock had a trading volume of 346,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,377. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.12. The company has a market cap of $71.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.05. Southern Copper Co. has a 52-week low of $74.11 and a 52-week high of $126.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.14. Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Southern Copper from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.50.

Southern Copper Company 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.