Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 12.5%, selling 9,519 shares and holding a total of 66,916 shares now valued at approximately $2.53 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan's recent earnings report surpassed predictions, posting $0.54 EPS against an expected $0.45, with revenues reaching $7.58 billion compared to an estimated $6.85 billion.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $51.00, indicating potential investor interest.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 66,916 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 9,519 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Barn Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,661,546 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $327,926,000 after purchasing an additional 173,665 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,184,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, CM Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 40.0% during the first quarter. CM Management LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $41.46. 10,676,281 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,064,477. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $52.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.07.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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.