Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Stock Holdings Lessened by LGT Group Foundation

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation reduced its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 71.3%, owning 60,618 shares worth approximately $2.3 million after selling 150,737 shares in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors, such as Vanguard Group Inc. and Price T Rowe Associates Inc., have increased their holdings, indicating strong institutional support with about 80.77% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Freeport-McMoRan recently reported earnings of $0.54 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, up 14.5% year-over-year.

LGT Group Foundation trimmed its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 71.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,618 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 150,737 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 125,042,285 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,734,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,987 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% in the fourth 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 lifted its position 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 worth $916,037,000 after purchasing 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% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,942,063 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $830,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,441,112 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $626,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,181 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $42.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.11. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $52.61. The company has a market cap of $60.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63. 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 (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 22.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Hsbc Global Res cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Eight equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

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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