Merit Financial Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,580 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 5,083 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FCX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,369,409 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,451,285,000 after purchasing an additional 305,912 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 55,710,695 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,371,604,000 after buying an additional 1,030,451 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 17,756,034 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $662,123,000 after buying an additional 709,114 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,508,085 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $279,977,000 after acquiring an additional 102,466 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,393,868 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $238,427,000 after acquiring an additional 986,703 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $49.96 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $52.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.21, a PEG ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 2.02.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $2,859,450.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 164,067 shares in the company, valued at $8,529,843.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 43,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.08, for a total value of $2,242,412.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at $5,331,577.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $2,859,450.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 164,067 shares in the company, valued at $8,529,843.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 365,667 shares of company stock worth $18,592,670. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. Argus lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.07.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.