Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 35,119 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.1%, selling 35,119 shares and holding 170,619 shares valued at about $8.67 million at quarter-end.
• Insiders have been heavy sellers, unloading a total of 565,145 shares worth roughly $35.84 million in the past 90 days, including EVP Douglas Currault II's sale of 75,000 shares and CAO Ellie Mikes' sale of 11,000 shares.
• Freeport beat quarterly estimates with $0.57 EPS (vs. $0.47 expected) and $6.23B in revenue, recently paid a $0.075 quarterly dividend (0.5% yield), and holds a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with a $65.19 target.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 170,619 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 35,119 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $8,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 292,843 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $14,873,000 after buying an additional 33,943 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 48,165 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,446,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 238.9% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,149 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 173,194 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $8,797,000 after buying an additional 4,314 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% 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 over the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $56.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $35.15 and a one year high of $70.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.16 and a 200 day moving average of $54.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, CICC Research reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.19.

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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