Westpac Banking Corp Has $1.97 Million Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 55.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 63,179 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 12.4 %

FCX opened at $33.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.83. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on FCX shares. Argus downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Dbs Bank upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.04.

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.