Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 12,407 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 13.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,868 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,407 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $6,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,244,504,000 after purchasing an additional 622,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after purchasing an additional 395,226 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,044,775 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 34,262,241 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,740,179,000 after purchasing an additional 3,130,046 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.1%

FCX opened at $73.97 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.24. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $35.15 and a one year high of $80.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total transaction of $300,459.78. Following the sale, the director owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

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.