Amundi Reduces Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Freeport-McMoRan position by 24.8% in the first quarter, selling 3.52 million shares and retaining 10.69 million shares worth approximately $628.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, exceeding estimates of $0.62, while revenue of $7.03 billion surpassed expectations but declined 7.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, or $0.30 annualized. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $70.27, compared with the reported share price of $61.58.

Amundi cut its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 24.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,693,916 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 3,517,663 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.74% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $628,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Essex Bank boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.9% in the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 18,674 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE FCX opened at $61.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $63.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $35.15 and a one year high of $72.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company's revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on FCX shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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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