Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 500 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,315 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $42.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.29 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.37.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.