CCM Investment Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 168,551 Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 168,551 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,418,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 160,920 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,220 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 8,022 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 28,750 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 7,808 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on FCX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.96.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.1 %

FCX stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,028,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,204,816. The company has a market capitalization of $56.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 21.90%.

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.