Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,000 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $42.72 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.14. The firm has a market cap of $61.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%. The company had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 22.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCX. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Canada upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

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.