Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,341 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 2,927 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $7,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $48.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.40. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.83 and a 1 year high of $55.24.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.