MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $18.65 Million Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 373,523 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 9,538 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $18,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing 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 $25,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $43.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.04 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.99.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders 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 0.69%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

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.