Harmony Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Harmony Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,976 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,276 shares during the period. Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% in the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FCX. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 target price on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $61.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $69.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.97.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.