Avanza Fonder AB Decreases Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Avanza Fonder AB reduced its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 128,981 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 22,647 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $4,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 13,193 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $448,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,805 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 12,744 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 3,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 184,433 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,983,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 48,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX opened at $42.19 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $52.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.64.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.82.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.