Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Sells 11,568 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 240,316 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 11,568 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $12,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at about $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% in the second 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 period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 14,992 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $66.04 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $70.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.32. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. 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 currently 15.96%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. This trade represents a 21.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,154 shares of company stock worth $5,535,707. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.14.

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.