Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 41,010 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. by 10.0%, purchasing an additional 41,010 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 449,370 shares worth approximately $17.05 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan has received mixed analyst ratings, with a majority rating it as a "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00, following some recent downgrades and increases in price objectives.
• The company reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with an EPS of $0.54, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.09, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 14.5%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 449,370 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,010 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $17,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 38.2% in the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Canada raised Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $42.10 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $52.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 22.73%.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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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