Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,149 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,668,244 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 16,149 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $63,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,409,395 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,965,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,494 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,891,058 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,436,455,000 after acquiring an additional 529,099 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,310,294 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,348,522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366,187 shares during the last quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4,767.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 11,933,126 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $595,702,000 after purchasing an additional 11,687,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,223,038 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $410,494,000 after purchasing an additional 127,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $38.58 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.89 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.76. The stock has a market cap of $55.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. Analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on FCX shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

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.