Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.38 Million Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 37.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,401 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 9,996 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Dbs Bank raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Five investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $41.50 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $59.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.36. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

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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