Moody National Bank Trust Division Takes $355,000 Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,334 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 164,640 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $8,219,000 after acquiring an additional 14,501 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 137.5% in the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,735 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 85,542 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,559.3% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 76,493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 71,883 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $754,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 92,224 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,604,000 after buying an additional 12,887 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.2 %

FCX stock opened at $39.47 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.53. The company has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.26 and a 52 week high of $55.24. 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 (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.96.

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.