Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,701 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 10,799 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $8,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $174,000. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 13,544 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares during the period. Quantum Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,360 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $1,568,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $50.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.82. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.83 and a 1 year high of $52.42. The stock has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 8.09%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.54.

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.