Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly reduced its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 76.1%, selling approximately 966,425 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 302,793 shares valued at around $11.46 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported $0.54 earnings per share for the last quarter, which was higher than analysts' expectations of $0.45, alongside a 14.5% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 1.4%, with a current payout ratio of 22.73%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 76.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 302,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 966,425 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $11,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 238.5% during the first quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 64,519 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 45,458 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 39,571 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 6,188 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 421,469 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $15,957,000 after buying an additional 8,989 shares during the last quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 527.9% in the 1st quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 76,127 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,882,000 after buying an additional 64,003 shares during the period. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.6% in the first 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. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Canada raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX traded up $0.57 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.72. 13,118,636 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,151,302. 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 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $52.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 0.80 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The company had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

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.