Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Takes $950,000 Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. established a new Q4 position in Freeport‑McMoRan, purchasing 18,696 shares valued at about $950,000.
• Major institutions have been materially increasing exposure — including Wellington, Voya, AQR and Amundi — leaving 80.77% institutional ownership of FCX.
• Market signals are mixed: JPMorgan raised its price target to $76 and the stock carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus (avg PT $63.11). Freeport also beat Q4 EPS and declared a $0.075 quarterly dividend, but insiders have sold 565,145 shares (~$35.8M) in the past 90 days.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,696 shares of the natural resource company's stock, valued at approximately $950,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 289.0% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,844,504 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $150,781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856,302 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 205.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,186,621 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $181,490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813,845 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at $108,920,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 7,018,624 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $282,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,708 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $76 and kept an overweight rating, giving the shares fresh upside from a major bank’s view. JPMorgan Adjusts PT on Freeport-McMoRan
• Positive Sentiment: Billions under management: Millennium Management (Israel Englander) continues to hold FCX in its top-10 portfolio, signaling long-term institutional conviction. That endorsement supports investor confidence. Israel Englander Remains Bullish on This Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s highlights miners like Freeport as beneficiaries if geopolitical fears ease and copper resumes its rally — a directional bullish thesis tied to commodity fundamentals and risk sentiment. Copper Is a ‘Peace' Commodity. Own These Miners in a Market Recovery.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental support: commentary and screens (Zacks/Yahoo) note FCX’s history of earnings beats and strong recent returns, which can sustain momentum traders and buy-the-rumor flows. Will Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC reiterated a Hold rating, which tempers the buy-side enthusiasm and signals mixed analyst views on valuation and near-term catalysts. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Hold Rating for Freeport-McMoRan (FCX)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation pieces ask whether the recent ~100%+ one-year rally has already priced in the copper story, creating cautious positioning among value-focused investors. Is It Too Late To Consider Freeport McMoRan (FCX) After A 115% One Year Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Bear case: a recent Seeking Alpha piece argues the copper rally should be faded and cautions on upside from current levels — a viewpoint that can pressure momentum traders if it gains traction. Freeport-McMoRan: Fade The Copper Rally

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FCX. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.11.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.2%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $67.90 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $31.85 and a one year high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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.

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