Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 319,061 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 221.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 463,166 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 319,061 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $27,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CICC Research dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.8%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $61.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $72.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.68 and its 200 day moving average is $62.47. The company has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.37.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 14.78%.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.