Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Acquired by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 114.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 933,717 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 497,349 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $58,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $62,478,000 after acquiring an additional 272,726 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at $8,857,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317,429 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $16,122,000 after purchasing an additional 213,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth about $868,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 in the last quarter. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Recent performance data shows strong momentum, with FCX gaining significantly over the past month, quarter, and year. Zacks also identifies the stock as a strong momentum name, which may continue attracting trend-focused investors. Freeport McMoRan On Smelter Optimism And Whether The Stock Is Already Priced In Here’s Why Freeport-McMoRan Is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Optimism surrounding Freeport-McMoRan’s smelter operations and favorable copper prices supports the company’s growth outlook. A new Erste Group Bank coverage initiation with a “buy” rating also adds positive analyst sentiment. Erste Group Bank coverage
• Positive Sentiment: FCX recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.74 in earnings per share versus a $0.62 consensus estimate and revenue of $7.03 billion versus $6.62 billion expected. Analysts broadly maintain a “Moderate Buy” view, although the average published price target is below the current trading range.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts comparing FCX with BHP Group point to strong copper prices, healthy finances, and ongoing growth projects at both miners. The comparison supports the sector outlook but does not provide a clear company-specific catalyst. FCX versus BHP
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are weighing on the stock after its copper-fueled rally. While a discounted-cash-flow analysis suggests potential upside, market-multiple measures indicate FCX may be expensive following its strong run. Freeport-McMoRan Stock May Be Pricey After Record Copper Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Douglas Currault II sold 80,000 shares worth approximately $6.3 million, reducing his holdings by 27.5%. Although the sale may be personal or scheduled, it can reinforce profit-taking concerns when the stock is near record levels. Freeport-McMoRan Insider Selling

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $76.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a market cap of $109.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.46 and a 200-day moving average of $64.02. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $80.24.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

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.