Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 21.7% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 2,133,846 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 11.97 million shares.
• Freeport-McMoRan's latest quarterly earnings report revealed an unexpected earnings per share of $0.54, surpassing analysts' estimates, and a revenue increase of 14.5% year-over-year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting a 1.5% yield and a payout ratio of 22.73%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,968,781 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 2,133,846 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.83% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $453,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 38.2% in the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 53.3% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $1.03 on Friday, reaching $41.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,827,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,843,308. The company has a market capitalization of $60.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.63. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.06. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion during 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 was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS 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 paid 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 presently 22.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.