Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 17.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,249,858 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 182,714 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $78,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FCX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. NBH Bank purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $72.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $104.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.62 and a 200 day moving average of $64.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $35.15 and a one year high of $80.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 14.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FCX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.27.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas Currault, II sold 80,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the sale, the director owned 122,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.