Empowered Funds LLC Sells 113,277 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC sold 113,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan, reducing its stake by 48.5%, leaving it with 120,108 shares valued at approximately $4.55 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter, including Nuveen LLC, which acquired $366.96 million worth, and Amundi, increasing its holdings by 28.1%.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.54, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.45, alongside a revenue of $7.58 billion, which was above the projected $6.85 billion.

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 48.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,108 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 113,277 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $4,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 62,015 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,348,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% during the first quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 25,980 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,102 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 12.5% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.8% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 10,421 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.72. The stock had a trading volume of 16,042,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,737,650. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $43.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.15. 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 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $52.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.59.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.