Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 59,854 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 8.2%, buying 59,854 shares to hold 790,190 shares valued at about $40.13 million (0.06% ownership) per its latest 13F filing.
• Insiders have been net sellers: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares and CFO Maree Robertson sold 48,500 shares recently, and insiders have sold 565,145 shares worth $35.84 million in the past 90 days.
• Recent results beat expectations: Freeport reported quarterly EPS of $0.57 (vs. $0.47 est.) and revenue of $6.23 billion (up 8.8% y/y), and it pays a $0.075 quarterly dividend ($0.30 annual, ~0.5% yield).

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 790,190 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,854 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.06% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $40,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $56.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $70.96.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 15.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCX. CICC Research dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.19.

Freeport-McMoRan 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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