Madison Investment Advisors LLC Takes $3.39 Million Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 88,983 shares of the natural resource company's stock, valued at approximately $3,388,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.82. 14,555,770 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,843,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $57.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.98 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The business's 50 day moving average price is $37.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.04.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.75.

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.