Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $23.32 Million Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 495,894 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 79,125 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $23,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 16,891 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 55,656,836 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,369,312,000 after acquiring an additional 976,592 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 2,917,913 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $124,216,000 after acquiring an additional 211,608 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,823.1% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 249,885 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $11,750,000 after purchasing an additional 236,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 345,917 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $14,726,000 after purchasing an additional 20,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $44.72 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.92.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted 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 return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.55%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.03, for a total value of $4,162,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,430,735.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CEO Richard C. Adkerson sold 169,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total value of $8,556,218.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,707,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,438,509.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.03, for a total value of $4,162,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,430,735.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 390,667 shares of company stock worth $19,895,620. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.50 to $62.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas raised Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bernstein Bank boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.07.

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.