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Candriam S.C.A. Grows Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

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Key Points

  • Candriam S.C.A. more than doubled its stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter, increasing holdings by 109.3% to 679,498 shares valued at about $39.9 million.
  • Wall Street sentiment on FCX remains constructive, with multiple firms issuing buy/overweight calls and an average analyst rating of Moderate Buy; the consensus price target is $68.63.
  • Freeport-McMoRan posted better-than-expected first-quarter results, including EPS of $0.57 on revenue of $6.23 billion, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.
  • Five stocks we like better than Freeport-McMoRan.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 109.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679,498 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 354,856 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $39,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $6,619,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,769 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,244,504,000 after buying an additional 622,343 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,193,327,000 after buying an additional 395,226 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.63.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX opened at $61.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $63.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.66. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $72.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 15.96%.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

(Free Report)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FCX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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