Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Holdings Lifted by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.8%, now owning 72,827 shares valued at approximately $2.76 million.
• Institutional investor ownership exceeds 80.77%, with notable increases from firms like Price T Rowe Associates and Capital World Investors.
• Freeport-McMoRan recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, yielding 1.5%, with a payout ratio of 22.73%.

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,827 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,123 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,885,531 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,214,203,000 after purchasing an additional 5,735,171 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,055,524 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $916,037,000 after buying an additional 750,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,942,063 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $830,726,000 after acquiring an additional 2,642,810 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,441,112 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $626,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,175,580 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $387,486,000 after acquiring an additional 869,691 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Canada raised Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $40.77 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.47 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 $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 22.73%.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.

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