Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Sells 44,932 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,590 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 44,932 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $3,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6,434.3% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 142,181,964 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $8,941,824,000 after acquiring an additional 140,006,047 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth $739,890,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 9,924,573 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:FCX opened at $76.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.15 and a twelve month high of $80.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were 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 was Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 14.78%.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record copper prices are lifting the earnings outlook. Copper reportedly reached approximately $14,694 per ton, improving the potential revenue and cash-flow outlook for FCX. Because Freeport-McMoRan is a major copper producer, higher prices can provide significant operating leverage. Freeport-McMoRan shares surge as copper hits record $14,694 per ton Freeport-McMoRan stock gains strongly as record copper prices lift earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related demand is strengthening the long-term copper investment case. Analysts and investors cited rising electricity-generation, data-center and grid-investment needs as structural drivers that could tighten copper supply and benefit miners such as FCX. Investor Kevin Simpson reportedly views the miner’s volatility as acceptable given this upside potential. AI is fueling copper demand. Kevin Simpson thinks this volatile miner is worth the risk Copper Is the AI Trade No One Priced In
• Neutral Sentiment: FCX is attracting unusually high investor attention. Zacks reported that the stock is trending among its users, but the coverage emphasizes reviewing earnings expectations, valuation and fundamentals rather than announcing a specific change in the company’s outlook. Freeport-McMoRan Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: PT Freeport Indonesia extended its revolving credit facility. The financing update may support liquidity at FCX’s 48.76%-owned subsidiary, but it does not materially change the immediate copper-price or production thesis. Freeport-McMoRan Subsidiary Extends Revolving Credit Facility

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.75.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a global mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, industrial equipment and renewable-energy technologies. The company also produces gold as a byproduct of its copper operations and molybdenum, an alloying metal used in steelmaking and other industrial applications.

Freeport-McMoRan operates major mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.