Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,489,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at $34,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of FCX opened at $59.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.66 and its 200 day moving average is $62.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $72.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.