Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 23,501 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Freeport‑McMoRan by 43% in Q4, buying 23,501 shares to hold 78,170 shares worth about $3.97 million.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: Chairman Richard Adkerson sold 152,960 shares (~$9.89M) and the CFO sold 48,500 shares (~$2.99M), with insiders disposing of 565,145 shares (~$35.84M) in the last 90 days.
• Operational and shareholder updates: Freeport‑McMoRan beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.47 vs. $0.28) and revenue topped forecasts, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 ($0.30 annualized, ~0.4% yield).

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 43.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,170 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,501 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $3,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Leo Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 64,438 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,273,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 49,059 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 8,377 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings outlook: Analysts and research notes see the company positioned to deliver an earnings beat in the upcoming report, citing the right combination of revenue and cost factors that support higher guidance and potential upside to consensus estimates. This improves near-term fundamentals sentiment for FCX. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Market action: The stock moved higher in the latest session versus the broader market, reflecting investor buying interest alongside elevated volume — a near-term technical tailwind that reinforces momentum-driven inflows. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling noted: Reports show executives sold shares while the stock rallied past the $69 level. Insider sales can be interpreted many ways (portfolio diversification, taxes, or signaling), so investors should monitor the size, timing and reason disclosures before changing positions. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock Soars Past $69 While Executives Unload Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cut: Scotiabank trimmed its price target to $71, which is mildly negative because it reduces some analyst-driven upside and could cap momentum if other firms follow. This raises some valuation risk even as fundamentals look supportive. Scotiabank Lowers Freeport-McMoRan NYSE: FCX Price Target to $71.00

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $70.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $100.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.43, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.48. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $70.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.05.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total transaction of $9,888,864.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,356,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $216,975,679.35. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Freedom Capital raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. CICC Research increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.26.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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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