HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 8,675 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,068,293 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 8,675 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $54,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value 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. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $60.88 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $70.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on FCX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.14.

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.