South Dakota Investment Council Reduces Position in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its position in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,624 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Newmont were worth $1,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Newmont by 35.4% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 3,498 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Newmont by 6,387.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,921 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,377,000 after buying an additional 964,815 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in Newmont by 914.5% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 11,569 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Newmont by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Newmont in the 3rd quarter valued at $529,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Newmont from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on Newmont from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group downgraded Newmont from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Newmont from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Newmont from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.37.

Insider Transactions at Newmont

In other news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 82,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,303,840. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $83,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,082,800. This represents a 3.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,154 shares of company stock valued at $1,166,843 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Newmont Stock Performance

NEM opened at $45.25 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.45. Newmont Co. has a 52-week low of $29.42 and a 52-week high of $58.72. The company has a market cap of $51.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.29. Newmont had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Newmont Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.13%.

Newmont Company Profile

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.