Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 15,700 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,218 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,700 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $4,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NBH Bank acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 68.2% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 587 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 196.5% during the 2nd quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 593 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 3.4%

NYSE:FCX opened at $60.23 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $86.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 13.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a $0.0750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 12.61%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas Currault, II sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is a mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its products serve industries including construction, manufacturing, electronics and energy. The company operates mines and related facilities in North America, South America and Indonesia. Its assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia and copper operations in the United States, Peru and Chile. Freeport-McMoRan traces its roots to Freeport Sulphur Company, founded in 1912, and has since developed into a major international mining business.