GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 3,899.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 863,397 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 841,811 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $32,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FCX. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 5,075 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 14,381 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 5,047 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 234.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,484 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 30,192 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,143,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 14,630 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of FCX traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.66. 17,268,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,423,562. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $52.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company's 50 day moving average is $36.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.39. The company has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.64.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side 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 Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.