NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Purchases 21,587 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 489,628 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 21,587 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $26,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 3.0%

FCX opened at $52.02 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $69.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.67 and a 200-day moving average of $50.32. The stock has a market cap of $74.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The business 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%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.