Amundi Boosts Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 10.5% in the second quarter, adding 1.13 million shares to own 11.82 million shares valued at approximately $743 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy and four Hold ratings. Freeport-McMoRan has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $70.27, while recent targets range as high as $85.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.74 in EPS versus the $0.62 consensus and $7.03 billion in revenue. However, revenue declined 7.3% year over year, and insiders sold more than 110,000 shares worth approximately $8.4 million over the past 90 days.

Amundi grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,819,898 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 1,125,982 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.82% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $743,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $62,478,000 after purchasing an additional 272,726 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,857,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317,429 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $16,122,000 after buying an additional 213,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $868,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271 over the last ninety days. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $72.66 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.38. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $80.24. The firm has a market cap of $104.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.78%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source