Advocate Group LLC Grows Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Advocate Group LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,568 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 9,601 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.18. The stock had a trading volume of 13,983,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,348,712. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The company has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.03% and a net margin of 7.11%. The firm had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wolfe Research raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.27.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.