Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,924,845 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 1,632,776 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.20% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $148,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Diversified Trust Co. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 219.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 25,046 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares in the last quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Tactive Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Tactive Advisors LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,127 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on FCX. Argus upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.59.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $54.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $69.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.41.

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 return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.