Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 1,118 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,980 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 1,118 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,606 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,840 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 965 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 16,844 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 45,869 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $48.00. 19,436,847 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,933,710. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.80 and its 200-day moving average is $40.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $68.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.04. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $52.42.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 8.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 23.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. Bernstein Bank increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.15.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.