Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 162,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Minerals Technologies were worth $12,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Minerals Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $478,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 161,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,468,000 after buying an additional 71,021 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 2,418.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 48.3% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 18,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 5,942 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 24.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the period. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Minerals Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

MTX stock opened at $80.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.46. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.78 and a 1 year high of $90.29.

Minerals Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.11 dividend. This is an increase from Minerals Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.32%.

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.