Marshall Wace LLP Has $86.12 Million Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,261,536 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 451,975 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $86,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FCX. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $754,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,388,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,684,393 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $84,085,000 after purchasing an additional 66,699 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 311,555 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $11,864,000 after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,219,298 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,692,191,000 after purchasing an additional 642,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of FCX opened at $33.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FCX shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.39.

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.