Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stock Position Boosted by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 33.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 62,218 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,700 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $4,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBH Bank bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 68.2% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 587 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 196.5% during the second quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 593 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total transaction of $300,459.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 122,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas Currault, II sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $60.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $80.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.0750 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Freedom Broker reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is a mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its products serve industries including construction, manufacturing, electronics and energy. The company operates mines and related facilities in North America, South America and Indonesia. Its assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia and copper operations in the United States, Peru and Chile. Freeport-McMoRan traces its roots to Freeport Sulphur Company, founded in 1912, and has since developed into a major international mining business.