QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 13.8% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 319,057 shares valued at approximately $20.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy and four Hold ratings. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $70.29.
• Freeport-McMoRan exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.74 EPS and $7.03 billion in revenue, while declaring a $0.075-per-share quarterly dividend. Insiders sold 110,398 shares worth $8.4 million over the past 90 days.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 13.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 319,057 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 38,807 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $20,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,485,424 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $4,181,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,489,069,000 after acquiring an additional 7,044,775 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,669,550 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,601,087,000 after acquiring an additional 238,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 22,685,423 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,152,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at $16,577,416.96. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 122,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271 in the last 90 days. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $72.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.35 and a 200 day moving average of $64.98. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.15 and a twelve month high of $80.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.41. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 14.78%.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend maintained with a variable component: Freeport declared a total cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, consisting of a $0.075 base dividend and a $0.075 performance-based variable dividend. The payment is scheduled for November 2 to shareholders of record on October 15. The payout signals continued cash returns and reflects the company’s performance-based distribution framework. Freeport Declares Quarterly Cash Dividends on Common Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Heightened investor attention: Zacks reported that FCX has recently attracted increased interest from users. However, the article did not identify a specific new catalyst, earnings revision, or operational development likely to materially change the stock’s outlook. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Shares underperformed the market: Zacks said FCX recorded a larger decline than the broader market during the latest session, indicating near-term selling pressure. The move follows recent strength, including an earlier gain, and may reflect profit-taking or broader weakness in mining and commodity-related equities rather than a newly disclosed company-specific problem. Freeport-McMoRan Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

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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