Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys 236,622 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 1,674.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 250,752 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 236,622 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $9,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $41.50 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $36.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $59.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.64. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the company'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 transaction of $343,531.68. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.82.

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.

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