Capital Research Global Investors Sells 6,092,686 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Capital Research Global Investors lowered its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 77,313,083 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 6,092,686 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.05% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $2,944,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $32.90 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.52. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released 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 return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FCX. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.39.

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.