Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Decreases Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 464,272 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 308,485 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $23,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 124.3% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 33,756 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 18,704 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 45,141 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,293,000 after buying an additional 19,498 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,858 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 3,806 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 2,787 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. CICC Research lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $67.64 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.47. The company has a market cap of $97.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.79, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.48. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.30 and a 12-month high of $70.96.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.