Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,327 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,471 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 2,327 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 15.2% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 11,101 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 40.8% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 112,066 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $5,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,474 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 73.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 132,043 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,624,000 after acquiring an additional 55,987 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,686 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 14,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX opened at $49.81 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $52.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 8.09%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 23.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.54.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.