Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,930 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,631,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,014,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,924,573 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $721,806,000 after purchasing an additional 7,192,955 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,489,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 101.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,498,267 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $675,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784,156 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCX. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $77.79 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $111.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.53. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $78.88.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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