Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Sells 23,000 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lessened its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 67.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,000 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 23,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE FCX traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,823,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,123,217. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $69.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.89.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FCX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. BNP Paribas raised Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.