Sigma Planning Corp Purchases 25,977 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 74.8% in the first quarter, buying 25,977 shares and bringing its total holdings to 60,716 shares worth about $3.57 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan’s stock was down 1.5% to $61.00, but the company recently topped earnings expectations with quarterly EPS of $0.57 versus $0.47 expected and revenue of $6.23 billion versus $5.73 billion forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.77.

Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 74.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,716 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,977 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $3,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,014,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,924,573 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $721,806,000 after purchasing an additional 7,192,955 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $198,523,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,366,596 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $882,050,000 after buying an additional 3,894,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.5%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $61.00 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $72.28. The company has a market capitalization of $87.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $63.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 15.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FCX. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.77.

Freeport-McMoRan 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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