NFJ Investment Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group cut its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 46.5% in the second quarter, selling 84,120 shares and retaining 96,932 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 80.77%, with several major investors—including Arrowstreet, Franklin Resources, Amundi, Bank of America and Janus Henderson—substantially increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $70.27 average price target. Freeport-McMoRan also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.74 per share versus the $0.62 consensus estimate.

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 96,932 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 84,120 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $6,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,014,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,924,573 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $721,806,000 after purchasing an additional 7,192,955 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,489,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,498,267 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $675,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784,156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $71.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.33. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $72.28. The firm has a market cap of $102.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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