Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 192,001 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 226.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 276,753 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 192,001 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $10,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX traded up $0.13 on Tuesday, reaching $45.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,221,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,498,949. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The company has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.40, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 7.03%. The firm had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 24.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $43.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.27.

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.