Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Acquired by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,868 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,407 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $6,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $739,890,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,014,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,924,573 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $721,806,000 after purchasing an additional 7,192,955 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,489,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.1%

FCX opened at $73.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $106.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.24. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $80.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 14.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.27.

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.