Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 3,682,148 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 16.2% in the first quarter, selling 3.68 million shares. It still owned about 19.0 million shares valued at roughly $1.12 billion.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $0.57 EPS versus $0.47 expected, on revenue of $6.23 billion. Revenue rose 8.8% from a year earlier, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 2.68.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $68.77. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, or $0.30 annualized, for a 0.5% yield.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 16.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,003,275 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 3,682,148 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.32% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $1,117,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FCX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. CICC Research lowered their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, May 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.77.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE FCX opened at $61.00 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $72.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 15.96%.

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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