Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Cuts Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 56.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,559 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 3,345 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued 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 $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $43.72 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.20. The stock has a market cap of $62.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.91. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.04 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

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.