M&T Bank Corp Reduces Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Freeport‑McMoRan by 74.7% in Q4, selling 56,470 shares and retaining 19,091 shares worth about $970,000.
• Insider selling has been heavy: the CFO and CAO sold large blocks and insiders collectively sold 565,145 shares (~$35.84M) in the past three months, leaving insiders with about 0.75% ownership.
• Operational risk from the Grasberg block‑cave slowdown has spurred downgrades and short‑term volatility, though Freeport recently beat Q1 revenue and EPS and retains a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $65.19.

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 74.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,091 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 56,470 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $970,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 935,211 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $47,633,000 after purchasing an additional 114,065 shares in the last quarter. Pavion Blue Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $254,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,708 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $2,985,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Long‑term demand narrative brightens FGX’s outlook — coverage links rising copper demand to tech and satellite infrastructure (SpaceX/constellation buildouts), which supports a multi‑year view for copper producers like Freeport. Freeport-McMoRan Links Copper Mining To Tech And Satellite Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and analyst expectations remain supportive — Freeport recently beat Q1 revenue and EPS estimates and still benefits from solid balance‑sheet metrics and favourable long‑run copper fundamentals. This helps offset headline risk. FCX price & fundamentals (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail and investor interest is elevated — search and attention metrics (Zacks/other sites) show investors are actively researching FCX, which can amplify moves in either direction. Investors Heavily Search Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector drill results (other juniors) add context but are not material to Freeport’s near‑term outlook. C3 Metals drilling release
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk: Grasberg block‑cave slowdown and mine delays are the main near‑term drag — multiple outlets report production setbacks in Indonesia that could reduce near‑term output and revenue. Is Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) at Risk Amid Grasberg Block Cave In Indonesia Slowdown?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Morgan Stanley cut FCX to Equalweight and trimmed its price target citing the longer‑term implications of the Grasberg issues — this raises short‑term selling pressure and headline risk. Is Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) at Risk Amid Grasberg Block Cave In Indonesia Slowdown?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: headlines on the mine delay have driven intraday selling in recent sessions; short‑term volatility should be expected while operational clarity is lacking. Freeport tanks again on mine delay: long term outlook stays strong

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Freedom Capital upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Argus upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. CICC Research lowered their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.19.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $57.81 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $62.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $70.96.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 15.96%.

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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