162,285 Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Bought by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management increased its Freeport-McMoRan holdings by 1,158.4%, buying 162,285 additional shares for a total position of 176,294 shares valued at $12.34 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy and four Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $76.27 price target.
• Freeport-McMoRan beat quarterly earnings expectations with $0.74 EPS and $7.03 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% yield.

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 1,158.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,294 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 162,285 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $12,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,485,424 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $4,181,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,489,069,000 after buying an additional 7,044,775 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,918,066 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $938,197,000 after buying an additional 1,810,698 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 11,819,898 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $743,353,000 after buying an additional 1,125,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $739,890,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the transaction, the director owned 122,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:FCX traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.20. The stock had a trading volume of 11,193,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,079,570. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.90. The company has a market capitalization of $93.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.39. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.54 and a twelve month high of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0750 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 14.78%.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: FCX has delivered four consecutive earnings beats, and strong copper prices are expected to support third-quarter results despite lower sales volumes and higher costs. The earnings preview also highlights estimates for production and other operating metrics that could influence the stock beyond headline revenue and EPS. FCX to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in the Cards for the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS forecast for Freeport-McMoRan to $3.19 from $3.10 and maintained a Buy rating. The revised estimate is above the broader consensus of $2.99, providing a favorable analyst signal ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC reportedly assigned FCX a $77 price target ahead of the company’s October 27 results, suggesting potential upside if copper-market conditions and quarterly execution meet expectations. HSBC sets USD 77 target before October 27 results

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc NYSE: FCX is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.

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