National Pension Service Raises Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

National Pension Service increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,256,047 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 236,012 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.23% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $123,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $38.03 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.89 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.66.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.