Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stock Holdings Lifted by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. by 6.5%, owning a total of 302,038 shares valued at approximately $11.4 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Wall Street analysts have shown optimism for the company, with multiple upgrades, including a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.
• Freeport-McMoRan recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Comerica Bank raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 302,038 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,426 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $11,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 62,015 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% in the first quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 25,980 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,102 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 12.5% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.8% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 10,421 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of FCX stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $44.42. The stock had a trading volume of 7,369,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,569,492. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $43.34 and its 200-day moving average is $39.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week 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. The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.