Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Cuts Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC reduced its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 756,064 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 20,762 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan makes up approximately 2.9% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $29,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.9%

FCX opened at $60.76 on Tuesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $69.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.24 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.72.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Clarkson Capital upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.40.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.