Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 1,014,200 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 1,014,200 shares and bringing its total holding to 22.7 million shares worth about $1.15 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.04, even as some firms trimmed targets while others raised them.
• Freeport-McMoRan posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $0.57 and revenue of $6.23 billion; the stock was also noted as trading up 6.9% and recently hit a 1-year high near $72.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,685,423 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,014,200 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.58% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $1,152,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Leo Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 828 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 6.9%

NYSE FCX opened at $71.64 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $72.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $102.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.38 and a 200 day moving average of $57.50.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

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.

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