Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 188,146 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 246.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 264,525 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 188,146 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $13,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,217 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 57.8% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 9,709 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 157,645 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $7,412,000 after buying an additional 4,547 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 14,450 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.5 %

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $46.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.83. The company has a market cap of $66.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.90.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.