Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,207,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 263,850 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $155,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in 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 bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock opened at $51.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.44. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $73.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.40.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.93.

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.