Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases 20,496 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 317.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,952 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 20,496 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 221,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $11,267,000 after purchasing an additional 73,002 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $8,857,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 426.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 81,892 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after buying an additional 66,331 shares during the period. Finally, Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 175.4% during the 4th quarter. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. now owns 1,379,760 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $70,078,000 after buying an additional 878,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.8%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $62.31 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $72.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.61 and a 200 day moving average of $60.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.

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.