Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Holdings Boosted by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 351.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 475,754 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 370,401 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $23,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Regal Partners Ltd grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 107.8% during the third quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 2,061,170 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $102,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069,073 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.2% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 61,342 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,059,000 after acquiring an additional 11,136 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 639.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,810 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,430 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 49,330 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,387 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,902,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,931,597. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.29 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. UBS Group raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.