Impax Asset Management Group plc Takes $4.56 Million Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 72,471 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,558,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on FCX shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,951. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,600 shares of company stock worth $1,802,012. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $71.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.33. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $72.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.78%.

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.