Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Acquired by Argyle Capital Management Inc.

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,200 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,896,288 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,427,583,000 after buying an additional 13,143,562 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at about $417,752,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 40.9% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,155,256 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $712,600,000 after purchasing an additional 4,396,309 shares during the last quarter. Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $197,966,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at about $162,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of FCX stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,904,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,982,833. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.75. The company has a market capitalization of $67.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on 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. Raymond James upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.