World Investment Advisors Increases Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 62.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,679 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,017 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $390,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 204,494 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $10,388,000 after acquiring an additional 32,461 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Targeted Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $673,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,407,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.81.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $68.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $72.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.01. The company has a market capitalization of $98.90 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.35.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.96%.

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.