Crake Asset Management LLP Buys 5,665,000 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Crake Asset Management LLP has significantly increased its ownership in Freeport-McMoRan, acquiring over 5.6 million additional shares, bringing their total to approximately 5.9 million, valued at $224.5 million, which represents about 18.1% of their holdings.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported strong quarterly earnings with a net revenue of $7.58 billion and EPS of $0.54, surpassing analyst expectations of $6.85 billion in revenue and $0.45 in EPS.
• The company declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 22.73% as of the last reporting period.

Crake Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 2,140.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,929,623 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,665,000 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan comprises about 18.1% of Crake Asset Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Crake Asset Management LLP owned 0.41% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $224,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at $366,959,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 27,635,497 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,046,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,054,537 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,547,489 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,421,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661,958 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,942,063 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $830,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,354.9% in the 1st quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 2,641,129 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $100,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,598 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of FCX stock traded up $0.34 on Monday, reaching $46.68. 10,367,926 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,377,851. The company has a market capitalization of $67.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.59. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $52.61. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $43.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.87.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.