Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,018 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 19,402 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $8,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FCX. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 47,144 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,777 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 4,577 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,681 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.6 %

FCX stock opened at $44.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $63.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.04 and a 52 week high of $55.24.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

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.