Trust Co. of Vermont Cuts Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,877 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the third quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 47,144 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,777 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,681 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $40.27 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.25 and a 200-day moving average of $44.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.26 and a 52 week high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.42.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.