Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 70.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 14,959 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 53.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 517 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in Southern Copper by 4.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,328 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 3.3% in the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 63,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,379,000 after buying an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 215.5% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 17,506 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,025,000 after buying an additional 11,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 131.8% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE SCCO traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,946,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,754. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.24 and a 200 day moving average of $102.06. Southern Copper Co. has a 1-year low of $78.82 and a 1-year high of $129.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.13.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 37.11% and a net margin of 27.67%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is 64.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Southern Copper from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern Copper from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $92.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.81.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.