Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,973 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for about 1.4% of Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $12,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FCX. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $40.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $57.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.25 and its 200 day moving average is $44.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.26 and a twelve month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.42.

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.