Vise Technologies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Vise Technologies more than doubled its Freeport-McMoRan position in the second quarter, increasing holdings by 104.6% to 95,200 shares valued at approximately $5.99 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with FCX carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $70.27, although one firm downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Freeport-McMoRan reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, beating estimates of $0.62, on revenue of $7.03 billion. The stock opened at $71.18, near its 52-week high, while insiders sold 26,600 shares worth about $1.8 million over the past three months.

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 104.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,200 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,660 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $5,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $62,478,000 after purchasing an additional 272,726 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,857,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317,429 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $16,122,000 after buying an additional 213,477 shares during the period. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $868,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. CICC Research reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 3.0%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $71.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $72.28. The business's 50-day moving average price is $64.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 14.78%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source