Leonteq Securities AG Invests $10.20 Million in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Leonteq Securities AG opened a new position in Freeport-McMoRan, buying 200,797 shares worth about $10.2 million, making FCX its 26th-largest holding.
• The stock has continued to draw attention from institutions and analysts, with 80.77% of shares held by institutional investors and a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $65.14.
• Freeport-McMoRan recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.57 EPS on $6.23 billion in revenue, while the stock was trading up 3.7% at $60.88.

Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 200,797 shares of the natural resource company's stock, valued at approximately $10,198,000. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for approximately 0.3% of Leonteq Securities AG's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 348.9% in the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 58,679 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 45,606 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 1,796,710 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $91,255,000 after purchasing an additional 395,848 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 139.6% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,322 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,830 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Forefront Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,664 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE:FCX opened at $60.88 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.15 and a twelve month high of $70.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.17. The company has a market cap of $87.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.96%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.

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