Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $731,000 Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc., purchasing 19,298 shares valued at approximately $731,000 in the first quarter of the year.
• Freeport-McMoRan recently reported $0.54 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.45, with a net revenue of $7.58 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 22.73%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,298 shares of the natural resource company's stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 38.2% in the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $40.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.64. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares in the company, 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 through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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.

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