United Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

United Bank increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,923 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,636 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,219,298 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,692,191,000 after acquiring an additional 642,776 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,891,058 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,436,455,000 after purchasing an additional 529,099 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,310,294 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,348,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366,187 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 21,580,960 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $857,305,000 after buying an additional 5,001,531 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,273,162 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $619,682,000 after buying an additional 4,488,210 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE:FCX opened at $38.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $55.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.98 and a 52 week high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. On average, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Dbs Bank raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $48.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.