Jonathan J. Hastings Sells 7,814 Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Stock

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 7,814 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total value of $649,577.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,477,548.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Minerals Technologies Stock Down 0.6 %

Minerals Technologies stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.20. The stock had a trading volume of 333,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.49. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.61 and a fifty-two week high of $84.54. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $75.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Minerals Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 97.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $77,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 1,266.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MTX. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Minerals Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.