Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Sold by Washburn Capital Management Inc.

Washburn Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 17.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,170 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 1,995 shares during the quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,139 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.7% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 39,561 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,975,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at $207,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 169,910 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $8,481,000 after purchasing an additional 7,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth about $321,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCX. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 779,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,008,849. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.78.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

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.