Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 33,943 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 292,843 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,943 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $14,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 48,165 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 238.9% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,149 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 173,194 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $8,797,000 after acquiring an additional 4,314 shares during the period. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total transaction of $9,888,864.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 3,356,159 shares in the company, valued at $216,975,679.35. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock opened at $56.64 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $70.96. The company has a market cap of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.16 and a 200 day moving average of $54.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. CICC Research lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.19.

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.