First Financial Bankshares Inc Reduces Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

First Financial Bankshares Inc lowered its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 60.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,872 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 15,128 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Copper and base metals rallied as Chinese traders returned to the market, supporting higher commodity prices that directly benefit Freeport’s revenue outlook. Copper leads base metals higher as Chinese traders return
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded FCX from “hold” to “strong-buy” (reported via Zacks), which can prompt buying from momentum and thematic investors. Zacks.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative coverage (Yahoo Finance and Zacks) weighs Freeport vs. Southern Copper (SCCO), noting both miners are exposed to copper price swings but are advancing major projects funded by strong cash flows — helpful context for longer-term investors but not an immediate catalyst. FCX vs. SCCO: Which Copper Mining Giant Should You Bet on Now? FCX vs. SCCO: Which Copper Mining Giant Should You Bet on Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Freeport presented at the BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals conference (transcript available). Management commentary can influence sentiment if it updates guidance or project timelines, but the transcript alone is informational. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) Presents at 35th BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares at ~$63 each (filed with the SEC), trimming his holdings by ~28%. Insider sales can be interpreted negatively by some investors even when routine. SEC filing: Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: MarketBeat highlighted insider selling across several stocks including Freeport, framing these sales as part of broader insider exits after strong rallies — a potential psychological headwind for the shares. Why Are Amphenol, Royal Caribbean, and Freeport Insiders Selling? (FCX)

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 603,140 shares of company stock valued at $37,660,139 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $67.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.51 billion, a PE ratio of 44.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $69.44.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

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.