Van ECK Associates Corp Has $151.97 Million Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,171,341 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 77,793 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.22% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $151,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $25,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.59. 7,733,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,565,680. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $65.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.91. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.83 and a twelve month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.