Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. by 2.0%, now owning approximately 0.60% of the company, valued at $327.9 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported a 14.5% increase in revenue year-over-year, posting $7.58 billion for the latest quarter, along with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.4%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,661,546 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 173,665 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.60% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $327,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,885,531 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,214,203,000 after buying an additional 5,735,171 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 13.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,942,063 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $830,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642,810 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,354.9% during the 1st quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 2,641,129 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $100,001,000 after buying an additional 2,459,598 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,968,781 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $453,138,000 after buying an additional 2,133,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 125,042,285 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $4,734,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE FCX traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $41.46. 10,676,281 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,064,477. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.07. The firm has a market cap of $59.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 22.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

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.