Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 51.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,248 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 112,895 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $4,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 163.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 123,525 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $4,704,000 after buying an additional 76,605 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $284,000. Sharpepoint LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $437,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 155,110 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $5,907,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 380,228 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 6,705 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $37.32. The stock had a trading volume of 10,953,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,919,354. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.31 and a 200 day moving average of $40.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FCX. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.50.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.