Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.10

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 15th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st.

Minerals Technologies has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Minerals Technologies has a payout ratio of 5.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Minerals Technologies to earn $7.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.7%.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTX traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $81.89. The company had a trading volume of 140,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,459. Minerals Technologies has a 52-week low of $48.61 and a 52-week high of $81.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $74.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34 and a beta of 1.32.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $534.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $545.55 million. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Minerals Technologies will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Minerals Technologies

In related news, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $87,461.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,006,017.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $87,461.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 81,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,006,017.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total transaction of $923,664.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares in the company, valued at $3,850,055.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.50.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.