Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 21,201 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 413,408 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,201 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $15,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 60,613 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,295,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Bearing Point Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 204.3% during the first quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC now owns 17,322 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.8% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,991 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.0% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 101,563 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 170.5% in the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 328,591 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $12,624,000 after acquiring an additional 207,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Canada upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.3%

FCX stock opened at $43.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.63 and a 200 day moving average of $39.04. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $52.61. The firm has a market cap of $62.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.64.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.73%.

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.