Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Sold by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC cut its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 44.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,175 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 4,078 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,896,288 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,427,583,000 after purchasing an additional 13,143,562 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at $417,752,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 40.9% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,155,256 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $712,600,000 after purchasing an additional 4,396,309 shares during the last quarter. Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at $197,966,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at $162,464,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $42.66 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.95.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.07. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FCX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.07.

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.