Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in Freeport‑McMoRan by 20.5% during Q4, acquiring an additional 344,517 shares to hold 2,022,700 shares worth about $102.73 million (≈0.14% of the company).
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — including the CAO and Chairman — with insiders offloading 565,145 shares totaling about $35.84 million over the past three months (insiders own ~0.75% of shares).
• Operational and market update: Freeport topped estimates with Q results of $0.57 EPS (vs. $0.47) and $6.23B revenue (up 8.8% YoY), pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 (annualized $0.30, ~0.5% yield), and carries an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $65.14 price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,022,700 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 344,517 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $102,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $36,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total transaction of $9,888,864.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,356,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $216,975,679.35. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 5.6%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $60.93 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $70.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.65. The company has a market capitalization of $87.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.14.

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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