Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Minerals Technologies shares rose above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $75.59 and last changing hands near $75.25. The move comes as the stock sits above its 200-day average of $71.94.
• Recent analyst activity has been mixed but generally constructive, with Truist lifting its price target to $90 and the consensus rating at Hold. Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to strong-buy, while some other firms kept neutral ratings.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.38 on revenue of $546.9 million, both above estimates. Minerals Technologies also pays a small quarterly dividend, yielding about 0.6%.

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $71.94 and traded as high as $75.59. Minerals Technologies shares last traded at $75.2450, with a volume of 147,440 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MTX. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Minerals Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Minerals Technologies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Minerals Technologies from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.00.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.12. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $546.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. Minerals Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Minerals Technologies

In related news, VP Timothy Jordan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total value of $481,620.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,665.33. This represents a 82.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Minerals Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 626.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Minerals Technologies by 36.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 552 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 87.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 798 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces and processes a broad range of mineral-based products and solutions that serve a variety of industrial applications. Its offerings include bentonite, perlite, precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), mineral sands, foundry additives, performance minerals and specialty chemicals designed to enhance performance in markets such as paper, steel, construction, oil and gas, environmental remediation and consumer products.

The company operates through several business segments, including Specialty Minerals, Refractory Minerals, Performance Materials and Recycled Materials.

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