Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC Takes $244,000 Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,183 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,155,256 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $712,600,000 after acquiring an additional 4,396,309 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,896,288 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,427,583,000 after buying an additional 13,143,562 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 94.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 365,178 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $17,171,000 after buying an additional 177,581 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 133.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 256,584 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $12,065,000 after buying an additional 146,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 244,562 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $11,499,000 after buying an additional 160,182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,390,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,741,873. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.92. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.50 to $62.00 in a research note on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 43,900 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.08, for a total transaction of $2,242,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,331,577.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 43,900 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.08, for a total transaction of $2,242,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,331,577.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $2,859,450.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 164,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,529,843.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 445,667 shares of company stock valued at $22,755,070. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.