Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 486,682 Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX – Get Rating) by 39.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,708,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 486,682 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 5.27% of Minerals Technologies worth $103,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Minerals Technologies by 53.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Minerals Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Ellevest Inc. increased its position in Minerals Technologies by 308.9% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 691 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 126.1% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Minerals Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $72,000. 96.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MTX shares. Sidoti lowered Minerals Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Minerals Technologies in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Minerals Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.00.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of MTX stock opened at $57.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.47. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.38 and a 12 month high of $73.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $546.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $527.73 million. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 5.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rocky Motwani acquired 822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.82 per share, with a total value of $49,994.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 822 shares in the company, valued at $49,994.04. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

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Minerals Technologies, Inc is a resource and technology-based company. It develops, produces, and markets a range of mineral, mineral-based, and synthetic mineral products. It operates through the following four segments: Performance Materials, Specialty Minerals, Refractories and Energy Services. The Performance Materials segment supplies bentonite and bentonite-related products, chromite and leonardite.