Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 51.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,248 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 112,895 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $4,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of FCX stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.32. 10,953,380 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,890,683. The firm has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $55.24. 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 fifty day moving average of $36.27 and a 200 day moving average of $39.88.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 24.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

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.