Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 351.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 475,754 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 370,401 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $23,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 137.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,559.3% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 76,493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 71,883 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake 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 valued at $4,604,000 after buying an additional 12,887 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 432,126 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $21,572,000 after purchasing an additional 107,852 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 21.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 202,440 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $10,393,000 after acquiring an additional 35,972 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $42.69 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.37. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.29 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $61.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.91.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.