Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management trimmed its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,659 shares and leaving it with 433,004 shares valued at about $22.0 million.
• Insider selling was also reported, with CAO Stephen T. Higgins selling 29,654 shares at $63.00 each in February, a transaction worth $1.87 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, posting EPS of $0.57 versus $0.47 expected and revenue of $6.23 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a $65.14 consensus price target.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 433,004 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 17,659 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $22,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,431,326,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950,557 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 205.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,186,621 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $181,490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,813,845 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,018,624 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $282,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,708 shares in the last quarter. Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,754,200,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 87.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 4,115,008 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $152,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921,792 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 3.1%

FCX stock opened at $58.64 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $70.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio 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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