Wedmont Private Capital Boosts Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,726 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 194.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,042 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $39.47 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.26 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.