Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,897,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 221,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $11,267,000 after buying an additional 73,002 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $8,857,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 426.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 81,892 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after buying an additional 66,331 shares during the period. Finally, Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 175.4% during the 4th quarter. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. now owns 1,379,760 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $70,078,000 after buying an additional 878,760 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $63.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $72.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.31.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.