Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Makes New $3.91 Million Investment in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 103,366 shares of the natural resource company's stock, valued at approximately $3,913,000. Freeport-McMoRan comprises approximately 1.5% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.73. 15,269,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,833,751. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $52.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.03% and a net margin of 7.11%. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley cut Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Canada upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.71.

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.