Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Purchased by Aldebaran Capital LLC

Key Points

• Aldebaran Capital LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. by 62.6% during the first quarter, now owning 51,563 shares valued at approximately $1.95 million.
• Several institutional investors have made significant adjustments to their positions, with Stratos Investment Management LLC boosting its stake by 238.5% in the same period.
• Brokerages have issued varied ratings on Freeport-McMoRan stock, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Aldebaran Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 62.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,563 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,860 shares during the period. Freeport-McMoRan makes up 1.8% of Aldebaran Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Aldebaran Capital LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 238.5% in the first quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 64,519 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 45,458 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 18.5% in the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 39,571 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 6,188 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.2% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 421,469 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $15,957,000 after acquiring an additional 8,989 shares during the last quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 527.9% during the 1st quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 76,127 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,882,000 after buying an additional 64,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Hoagland & Co. now owns 109,565 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,148,000 after buying an additional 23,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FCX. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.0%

FCX stock opened at $42.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.22. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $52.61. The company has a market cap of $60.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 22.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

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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