Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Acquired by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 19.5% to 11,548,801 shares, a holding worth about $452.2 million (roughly 0.80% of the company).
• Significant insider selling: Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares (~$15.6M) and insiders have sold 603,140 shares (~$37.66M) in the past three months, reducing insider ownership to about 0.79%.
• Mixed financials: Freeport beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.47 vs. $0.28) and reported $5.63B in revenue, but revenue was down 1.5% year-over-year and the company is paying a reduced quarterly dividend of $0.075 (0.5% yield).

Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,548,801 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,885,916 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 0.80% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $452,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% during the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $62.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $69.75. The company has a market capitalization of $89.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.25, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.19 and a 200-day moving average of $49.66.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The business had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 19.87%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. This trade represents a 21.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 603,140 shares of company stock worth $37,660,139 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. HSBC raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.59.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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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