Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) CAO Stephen Higgins Sells 7,550 Shares

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) CAO Stephen Higgins sold 7,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $475,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 68,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,340,385. This represents a 9.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $63.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $72.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.62.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The business had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.78%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Steph & Co. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.27.

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.