Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Sells 11,852 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 71.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,658 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 11,852 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX traded down $1.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $43.38. 12,469,973 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,915,068. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. The company has a market cap of $62.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $46.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.54. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.38 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FCX. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.00.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.