Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds cut its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 11.3% in the second quarter, selling 134,150 shares and retaining 1.05 million shares valued at approximately $66.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with one Strong Buy, 19 Buy, and three Hold ratings. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $70.27.
• Freeport-McMoRan beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.74 in EPS versus the $0.62 estimate and $7.03 billion in revenue, while revenue declined 7.3% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,052,050 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 134,150 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.07% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $66,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $6,619,611,000 after buying an additional 1,572,769 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,244,504,000 after acquiring an additional 622,343 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after acquiring an additional 395,226 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,489,069,000 after acquiring an additional 7,044,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $76.68 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.15 and a 1-year high of $77.33. The stock has a market cap of $110.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $64.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.78%.

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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