National Pension Service Sells 27,955 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• National Pension Service reduced its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 0.7%, selling 27,955 shares and retaining 3.83 million shares worth approximately $240.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.75; several firms recently raised targets to between $70 and $78.
• Freeport-McMoRan exceeded quarterly expectations with earnings of $0.74 per share versus $0.62 expected and revenue of $7.03 billion, while copper demand tied to AI infrastructure and constrained supply remains a longer-term potential catalyst.

National Pension Service lowered its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,829,627 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 27,955 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.27% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $240,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. NBH Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $28,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the sale, the director owned 122,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,706,955.22. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $71.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.41 and a 200-day moving average of $64.70. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $80.24. The company has a market capitalization of $102.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.41.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given 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 was Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.78%.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Longer term, Freeport-McMoRan remains positioned to benefit from strong copper demand tied to artificial-intelligence data centers, power-grid upgrades and renewable-energy infrastructure. Copper supply is also constrained by declining mine output, operational disruptions and smelter bottlenecks. Copper’s Record Rally Highlights a Deeper Supply Problem
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings demonstrated operating leverage: FCX reported quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share versus the $0.62 consensus estimate, while revenue also exceeded expectations. Analysts’ average rating remains Moderate Buy, with some price targets above the current trading level. Freeport-McMoRan earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors remain focused on whether the structural copper shortage can outweigh near-term demand weakness. Elevated prices have caused some buyers, particularly in China, to delay purchases, while copper inventories and trade flows remain sensitive to policy developments. Copper miners and oil market article
• Negative Sentiment: Uncertainty surrounding White House plans for copper tariffs triggered a broad pullback in copper-related equities, reversing part of the metal’s recent record rally. Rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and pressure across precious and industrial metals added to the selling. Freeport-McMoRan Stock Drops on Copper Tariff Uncertainty

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a global mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, industrial equipment and renewable-energy technologies. The company also produces gold as a byproduct of its copper operations and molybdenum, an alloying metal used in steelmaking and other industrial applications.

Freeport-McMoRan operates major mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.

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