Primecap Management Co. CA Has $97.54 Million Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. by 12.9%, holding approximately 2.58 million shares worth $97.54 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Freeport-McMoRan announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 22.73%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Freeport-McMoRan, with the consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00 per share.

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,576,370 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 382,416 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.18% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $97,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 540,046 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $20,565,000 after buying an additional 115,552 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 268,659 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $10,231,000 after buying an additional 58,117 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,427,097 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $54,344,000 after buying an additional 126,129 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,175,580 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $387,486,000 after buying an additional 869,691 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $39.85 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $42.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $52.61. The company has a market capitalization of $57.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.

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