MBB Public Markets I LLC Sells 308,300 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

MBB Public Markets I LLC lowered its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,678 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 308,300 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan comprises approximately 1.2% of MBB Public Markets I LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. MBB Public Markets I LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $8,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE FCX opened at $57.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCX. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.59.

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.