Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 316,470 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $19,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Essex Bank increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $79.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.80. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 106,600 shares of company stock worth $8,086,812 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.