West Family Investments Inc. Buys 7,787 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 228.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,197 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,787 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 14,992 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX traded up $3.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.61. 16,779,121 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,936,262. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.62 and its 200 day moving average is $64.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $80.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 in the last quarter. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FCX. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. HSBC lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.27.

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.