Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 561,524 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,265 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $21,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,388,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 311,555 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $11,864,000 after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,219,298 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $4,692,191,000 after purchasing an additional 642,776 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 237.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,218,518 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $351,041,000 after purchasing an additional 6,486,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 159,536 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 8,195 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FCX. UBS Group cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.09.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:FCX opened at $39.47 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $56.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.35 and a 200-day moving average of $39.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 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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