Plato Investment Management Ltd Lowers Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd significantly reduced its stake in Freeport-McMoRan, selling 41,371 shares and lowering its holdings by 78.6% during the first quarter.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Freeport-McMoRan's stock, with recent ratings ranging from a "Strong Buy" to "Neutral," and price targets fluctuating between $48.00 and $54.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 22.73%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 78.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,242 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 41,371 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 62,015 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 25,980 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,102 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 10,421 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on FCX. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Canada raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE FCX traded down $1.20 on Friday, hitting $44.72. The stock had a trading volume of 16,042,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,737,650. The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.15. The stock has a market cap of $64.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

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.