NFJ Investment Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,932 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 84,120 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $6,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in 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. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $71.18 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $72.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.33. The firm has a market cap of $102.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. 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 released 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. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The company’s revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is presently 14.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.27.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.