Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Freeport‑McMoRan by 35.8% in the third quarter, selling 967,918 shares and leaving 1,737,750 shares (about 0.12% of the company) valued at roughly $68.15 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive—multiple firms raised price targets and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $62.59 target—after the company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.47 vs. $0.28) and declared a $0.075 quarterly dividend.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 35.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,737,750 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 967,918 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $68,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,760,188 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $5,049,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,241 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,258,414 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,480,995,000 after purchasing an additional 899,699 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,787,174 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,678,474,000 after purchasing an additional 320,514 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,671,223 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $849,945,000 after purchasing an additional 435,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 89.4% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 17,569,169 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $761,623,000 after buying an additional 8,292,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. CICC Research lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.59.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $62.29 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $61.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.66. The firm has a market cap of $89.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.25, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total value of $15,576,346.80. Following the sale, the chairman owned 3,509,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 603,140 shares of company stock valued at $37,660,139 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.