Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Purchases 939,941 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 50.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,794,794 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 939,941 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan comprises 1.8% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $141,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 828 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX opened at $68.28 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.24 and a 200 day moving average of $59.18. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $72.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $98.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.35.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 15.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.86.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.