Stephen T. Higgins Sells 42,767 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,153,318.45. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,255,381.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $50.45 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $52.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.86 and its 200 day moving average is $40.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market cap of $72.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a PEG ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 2.02.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Raymond James raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.