Fulton Bank N.A. Lowers Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Fulton Bank N.A. lessened its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,716 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 47,144 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,777 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 4,577 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,681 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $38.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.09 and a 200-day moving average of $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced 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 net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. This is a boost from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 21.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FCX. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.96.

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.