Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stake in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,328 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Newmont were worth $2,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Newmont by 49.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 58,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 19,321 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Newmont by 17,084.4% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 16,497 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 16,401 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Newmont by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 4,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Newmont by 21.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,052,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $376,953,000 after buying an additional 1,226,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Newmont in the third quarter valued at about $3,481,000. 68.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Newmont Stock Performance

Shares of NEM stock opened at $48.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $54.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.52. Newmont Co. has a one year low of $35.37 and a one year high of $58.72.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.29. Newmont had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 17.92%. The company had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Newmont Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CLSA assumed coverage on shares of Newmont in a research report on Friday, November 29th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Newmont from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Newmont from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on Newmont from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $131,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,782,051.46. This represents a 3.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $83,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,082,800. This trade represents a 3.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,231 shares of company stock worth $1,388,758 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.