Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 4.5% during the first quarter, now holding 1,547,519 shares worth approximately $58.6 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported $0.54 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and achieving a 14.5% year-over-year revenue growth to $7.58 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15, which provides an annual yield of 1.4% with a payout ratio of 22.73%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,547,519 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 72,553 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.11% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $58,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tejara Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,136,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 41.7% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,784,117 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $67,083,000 after acquiring an additional 525,221 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 16.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,162,058 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $498,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,285 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.5% in the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 45,000 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 10,780 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 75,537 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 20,043 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FCX. Citigroup upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE FCX traded down $0.3480 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.4020. 7,378,070 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,825,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.63. The business's 50 day moving average is $43.00 and its 200-day moving average is $39.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.