Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 180,623 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 22,206 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $6,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.66. 17,268,790 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,426,718. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $52.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.38. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.82.

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.