Insider Selling: Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) CAO Sells 4,773 Shares

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan CAO Ellie Mikes sold 4,773 shares for approximately $334,110 at an average price of $70, reducing her direct ownership by 11.71% to 36,000 shares.
• FCX shares traded near $69.45, close to their 52-week high, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with $0.74 EPS and $7.03 billion in revenue.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 19 Buy and one Strong Buy rating among those tracked by MarketBeat; the average price target is $70.27. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) CAO Ellie Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX traded up $2.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.45. The company had a trading volume of 17,107,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,398,715. The firm has a market cap of $99.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.67. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $72.28. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 14.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.27.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and industry coverage highlighted Freeport-McMoRan’s exposure to rising copper demand from electric vehicles, grid upgrades and data-center infrastructure. Freeport-McMoRan in Focus as Copper Demand From EVs and Grids Builds
• Positive Sentiment: FCX was identified as one of the copper stocks flashing a buy signal, alongside broader strength in industrial-metal and rare-earth equities. Retreating oil prices and reported progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz were viewed as supportive of global growth sentiment. FCX Flashes Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Recent company updates pointed to higher copper and gold sales expected in the second half of 2026 and into 2027. Continued share repurchases—approximately 55.4 million shares bought for $2.2 billion since late 2021—could support earnings per share by reducing the share count. FCX Upgraded Copper-Gold Outlook and Ongoing Buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed traders purchasing 75,145 FCX call options, about 30% above typical daily call volume, signaling increased speculative bullish interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks listed FCX among non-ferrous mining stocks worth watching for long-term growth despite a weak near-term industry outlook. Non-Ferrous Metal Mining Stocks to Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Freeport-McMoRan Chief Accounting Officer Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares for approximately $334,110, reducing her direct holdings by 11.71%. The transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing, although insider sales can reflect personal financial considerations and do not necessarily indicate a change in company fundamentals. SEC Insider Sale Filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,014,434,000 after buying an additional 9,924,573 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $721,806,000 after acquiring an additional 7,192,955 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,489,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,498,267 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $675,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.

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