Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 395,848 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Freeport‑McMoRan by 28.3% in Q4, buying 395,848 shares to hold 1,796,710 shares (about 0.13% of the company) valued at roughly $91.26 million.
• Insiders sold heavily last quarter—a total of 565,145 shares worth about $35.84 million, including sales by CFO Maree E. Robertson and Chairman Richard C. Adkerson, reducing insider ownership to about 0.75%.
• Financial/market update: Freeport beat Q4 estimates with $0.47 EPS vs. $0.28 expected and $5.63B revenue, declared a $0.075 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.30, ~0.5% yield), and holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $62.75.

Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,796,710 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 395,848 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.13% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $91,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Leo Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 49,059 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,628 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 45,133 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,509,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $61.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $88.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 19.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.75.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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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