Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stake in Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) by 68.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 264,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 566,741 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Tronox were worth $2,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Tronox by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Tronox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Tronox by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 69,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 5,309 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Tronox by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 17,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 6,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Tronox by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 1,161,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,990,000 after purchasing an additional 7,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.36% of the company’s stock.

Tronox Trading Down 6.9 %

Tronox stock opened at $4.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $773.11 million, a PE ratio of -15.79 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.43. Tronox Holdings plc has a one year low of $4.75 and a one year high of $20.70.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.03). Tronox had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.63%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Tronox Holdings plc will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -161.29%.

Insider Activity at Tronox

In other news, Director Stephen J. Jones bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.17 per share, for a total transaction of $215,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,100. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Tronox from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Tronox from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Tronox from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their target price on Tronox from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Tronox from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.50.

Tronox Company Profile

Tronox Holdings plc operates as a vertically integrated manufacturer of TiO2 pigment in North America, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates titanium-bearing mineral sand mines; and engages in beneficiation and smelting operations. It offers TiO2 pigment; ultrafine specialty TiO2; zircon; feedstock; pig iron; monazite; titanium tetrachloride; and other products.