J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,353 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 912 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $46.57 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $32.83 and a one year high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.