Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Bought by Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV

Key Points

• Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV increased its stock holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. by 19.3% during Q1, now owning 43,244 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• In terms of insider activity, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares at an average price of $40.02, reducing their holdings by 15.08%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Freeport-McMoRan, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $51.00, while recent earnings reported were $0.54 EPS, exceeding expectations.

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,244 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 6,987 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 237.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,218,518 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $351,041,000 after purchasing an additional 6,486,011 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,885,531 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,214,203,000 after acquiring an additional 5,735,171 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,273,162 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $619,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,488,210 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,942,063 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $830,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,354.9% in the first quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 2,641,129 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $100,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,598 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE FCX traded up $1.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.23. The stock had a trading volume of 16,613,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,208,240. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 22.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FCX. Morgan Stanley downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.