Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,868 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,407 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $6,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at about $1,631,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.4% in the second quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,000 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the period. Madison Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 12.5% during the second quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 404,167 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,418,000 after purchasing an additional 44,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 90.5% during the second quarter. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC now owns 27,089 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 12,870 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,951. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock opened at $76.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.44. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $77.33.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

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.