Stephen Higgins Sells 29,654 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) CAO Stephen 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 transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $68.84 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $69.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.19.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. CICC Research raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Grasberg extension materially reduces long‑term operational risk by locking in life‑of‑resource rights and clarifying ownership/governance, supporting FCX’s reserve base and cash‑flow visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Catalyst: analysts and market commentary are upgrading FCX (several buy/strong‑buy actions and price‑target raises), which can accelerate inflows from institutional and momentum investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commodity tailwind — copper and other base metals rallied as Chinese trading activity returned, improving revenue prospects for copper producers like Freeport. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum: FCX has posted a multi‑day winning streak and notable market‑cap gains in recent sessions, a technical factor likely attracting short‑term buyers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presentations and conference transcripts (BMO metals/minerals) provide operational detail; useful for longer‑term fundamental assessment but not an immediate catalyst on their own. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative analyst pieces weigh FCX versus peers (e.g., SCCO), highlighting both exposure to copper price swings and differing project profiles — context for portfolio positioning rather than an immediate driver. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased attention from retail/news platforms (Zacks/Yahoo) is raising visibility; that can amplify flows but is not a direct fundamental change. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: CAO Stephen Higgins sold ~29,654 shares at about $63 each (SEC filing). While not unusual, large insider trims after a rally can spook some investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Media/roundups have highlighted insider selling across several names including FCX, which may create short‑term psychological pressure despite strong fundamentals. Read More.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.