World Investment Advisors Purchases 13,359 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 270.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,291 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,359 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 164,640 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $8,219,000 after acquiring an additional 14,501 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $754,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $3,388,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,684,393 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $84,085,000 after purchasing an additional 66,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 311,555 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $11,864,000 after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $29.14 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.71. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.25 and a one year high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $41.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.61.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.