Cumberland Partners Ltd Cuts Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Cumberland Partners Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 67.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,250 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 41,755 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FCX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6,469.2% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 854 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 122.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $48.11. 8,732,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,862,514. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $52.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.02 and its 200 day moving average is $40.14. The stock has a market cap of $69.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on FCX. Bernstein Bank lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.77.

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.