Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stake Lessened by Biltmore Wealth Management LLC

Biltmore Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 69.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,374 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 9,945 shares during the period. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,760,188 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $5,049,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,241 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,258,414 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,480,995,000 after purchasing an additional 899,699 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,477,910 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,450,384,000 after purchasing an additional 690,736 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,431,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,671,223 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $849,945,000 after purchasing an additional 435,963 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:FCX opened at $61.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $69.75.

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 firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. This represents a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.