Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Capital Research Global Investors

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors reduced its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 6.85 million shares and leaving it with 35.18 million shares worth about $1.79 billion.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with analysts including Goldman Sachs and Barclays maintaining bullish calls; the stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $66.04.
• Freeport-McMoRan beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.57 versus $0.47 expected and revenue of $6.23 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.

Capital Research Global Investors cut its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,176,617 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 6,848,218 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 2.45% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $1,786,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 828 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 9.1%

Shares of FCX stock opened at $63.37 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $72.09. The stock has a market cap of $91.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

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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