Confluence Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,167 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.9% during the second quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 21,272 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 3,871 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 87,131 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 8,019 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 123,304 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $5,993,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 19,390 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FCX opened at $37.88 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.07. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.26 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.86.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business 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 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 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.92.

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.