Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Acquired by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 847,770 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares during the period. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for approximately 2.9% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $32,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $40.27 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.20. The company has a market cap of $57.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FCX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.42.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.