Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 174,300 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its stake in Freeport‑McMoRan by 32.7%, selling 174,300 shares in Q4 and leaving 359,367 shares valued at $18.252 million.
• Freeport beat expectations in its most recent quarter, reporting $0.57 EPS vs. $0.47 expected and $6.23 billion in revenue vs. $5.73 billion expected, with analysts holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.14.
• Notable insider selling occurred recently—insiders sold 565,145 shares worth $35.84 million in the last 90 days—while institutional investors own about 80.77% of the stock.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 359,367 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 174,300 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $18,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FCX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 14,992 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. CICC Research lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $55.55 on Tuesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $70.96. The stock has a market cap of $79.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $62.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.41. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.96%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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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