Capital World Investors Has $11.77 Million Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Capital World Investors trimmed its stake by 98.8% in Q3, selling 24,118,994 shares and leaving it with 300,008 shares of Freeport‑McMoRan valued at about $11.77 million.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently — insiders sold 565,145 shares worth about $35.84 million over the last 90 days (chairman sold 152,960 shares) while institutional investors still own ~80.77% of the stock.
• Freeport posted an earnings beat (Q4 EPS $0.47 vs. $0.28 expected) and has a market cap of ~$85.0B, but its dividend is modest after a cut (annualized $0.30, 0.5% yield) and the stock is down ~3.9% with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (average target $62.59).

Capital World Investors trimmed its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 98.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300,008 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 24,118,994 shares during the period. Capital World Investors' holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $11,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $560,000. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,773 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,211 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 3.9%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $59.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total value of $9,888,864.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,356,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $216,975,679.35. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 over the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCX. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.59.

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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