Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors reduced its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 8.7% in the second quarter, selling 65,758 shares and retaining 692,189 shares valued at approximately $43.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share, beating estimates of $0.62, while revenue reached $7.03 billion versus expectations of $6.62 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, equivalent to a 0.4% yield.
• FCX shares rose 7.7% to $76.68, near their 52-week high of $77.33. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $70.27.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 692,189 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 65,758 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $43,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Essex Bank increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 7.7%

NYSE FCX opened at $76.68 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $64.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.42. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $77.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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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