Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 408,360 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,596,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $29.14 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.49 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.73. The company has a market cap of $41.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. Equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.61.

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.