Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,932,930 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 676,731 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $758,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 221,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $11,267,000 after acquiring an additional 73,002 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,857,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 426.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 81,892 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 66,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 175.4% in the 4th quarter. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. now owns 1,379,760 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $70,078,000 after acquiring an additional 878,760 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 9.1%

NYSE:FCX opened at $63.37 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $72.09. The stock has a market cap of $91.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.48 and a 200-day moving average of $58.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 15.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FCX. Weiss Ratings upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays began coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, CICC Research lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.04.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.