Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 575,515 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 66.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 575,515 shares and ending with 291,828 shares valued at about $14.8 million.
• Insider selling also occurred, with CAOs Ellie L. Mikes and Stephen T. Higgins selling shares in February, reducing their ownership positions by 21.25% and 27.95%, respectively.
• Freeport-McMoRan beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.57 EPS on $6.23 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a generally positive view with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 66.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 291,828 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 575,515 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $14,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth approximately $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 14,992 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at $2,529,149.19. This represents a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock opened at $60.51 on Tuesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $35.15 and a one year high of $70.96. The firm has a market cap of $86.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.32. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.92.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were 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 was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.14.

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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