Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Increases Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management increased its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 5.4% in the second quarter, adding 57,190 shares to own 1.12 million shares worth approximately $70.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with one Strong Buy, 19 Buy and three Hold ratings. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $70.27.
• Freeport-McMoRan exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.74 in earnings per share versus a $0.62 estimate and $7.03 billion in revenue. However, company insiders sold 26,600 shares worth about $1.8 million over the past three months.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,123,716 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 57,190 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for approximately 0.9% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $70,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. one8zero8 LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 228.4% in the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 11,197 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,787 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 16.9% during the second quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 53,047 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,336,000 after purchasing an additional 7,662 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.5% in the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,687,548 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $106,130,000 after buying an additional 57,089 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. CICC Research dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012 over the last three months. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of FCX stock opened at $69.02 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.15 and a 1-year high of $72.28. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $99.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.37.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.78%.

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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