Sigma Planning Corp Sells 21,454 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 38.2% in Q4, selling 21,454 shares and leaving 34,739 shares valued at about $1.76 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — the EVP sold 75,000 shares and the CAO sold 29,654, with a total of 565,145 insider shares sold over the past 90 days; insiders now own about 0.75% of the stock.
• Freeport recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.57 vs. $0.47; revenue $6.23B vs. $5.73B) and has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $65.14 and some targets as high as $76.00.

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,739 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 21,454 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 48,165 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 238.9% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,149 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 173,194 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $8,797,000 after acquiring an additional 4,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $56.64 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.16 and its 200 day moving average is $54.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.32. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $70.96.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

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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