Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 61.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,080 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 34,467 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% in the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,847,349.26. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 4.9%

NYSE:FCX opened at $63.65 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $69.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 19.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Clarkson Capital raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, CICC Research upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.40.

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.