Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 176,102 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,097 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $8,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% during 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. raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,777 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in 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 worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $43.48 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.04 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.05. The company has a market capitalization of $62.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.91.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FCX. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.