UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Purchases 456,211 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4%, acquiring an additional 456,211 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 7,560,992 shares valued at $286.26 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported a strong earnings performance with $0.54 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.45, and an overall revenue increase of 14.5% year-over-year.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and Price T Rowe Associates, have significantly increased their holdings in Freeport-McMoRan, indicating a strong institutional interest in the stock.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,560,992 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 456,211 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.53% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $286,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 125,042,285 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,734,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,987 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,547,489 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,421,549,000 after acquiring an additional 5,661,958 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 28.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 27,635,497 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,046,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,054,537 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 13.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,942,063 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $830,726,000 after acquiring an additional 2,642,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 16.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,162,058 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $498,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $44.89 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.00. The company has a market cap of $64.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%.The business's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Canada raised Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

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.

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