Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% in Q4, buying 119,457 shares to hold 3,021,716 shares (about 0.21%) valued at roughly $156.9 million.
• Insiders sold material stock this quarter — including the CFO and an EVP — totaling 565,145 shares worth $35.84 million, leaving insiders with about 0.75% ownership.
• Freeport beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.57 EPS vs. $0.47 est. and $6.23 billion revenue vs. $5.73 billion est.; analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $65.14.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,021,716 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 119,457 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $156,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 over the last quarter. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on FCX. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $60.93 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.15 and a 1-year high of $70.96. The company has a market cap of $87.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

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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