Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 1,815,285 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 16%, owning approximately 13.16 million shares worth nearly $498.27 million following the purchase of an additional 1.81 million shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, have also raised their positions in Freeport-McMoRan, demonstrating strong institutional interest in the company.
• The consensus rating for Freeport-McMoRan stock is a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $51.00; recent analyst reports reflect mixed ratings with targets ranging from $50.00 to $56.00.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,162,058 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 1,815,285 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.92% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $498,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, 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. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE FCX traded down $0.0550 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.4050. The company had a trading volume of 3,700,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,771,104. The company has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%.Freeport-McMoRan's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Canada raised Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

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.