Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) CAO Sells $1,868,202.00 in Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) CAO Stephen Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% 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.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.6%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $68.38 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $98.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin 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 previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 19.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,431,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% during 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 buying an additional 9,924,573 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 89.4% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 17,569,169 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $761,623,000 after buying an additional 8,292,873 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $721,806,000 after acquiring an additional 7,192,955 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. CICC Research increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.73.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Life‑of‑resource operating rights extension at Grasberg and related commitments (retaining Freeport’s majority stake through the extended term) materially reduce regulatory timing risk for a flagship asset and underpin the recent multi‑day rally. Freeport‑McMoRan Grasberg Deal Reshapes Long Term Risk And Reward
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets (several firms raising ratings/targets) are supporting buy‑side interest and helped fuel the recent market cap gain. MarketBeat: Analyst coverage roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger base‑metals momentum—especially copper as Chinese trading activity returned—improves Freeport’s near‑term revenue outlook and makes miners’ cash flows more attractive. Copper leads base metals higher as Chinese traders return
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and investor attention pieces (Zacks, Yahoo) highlight FCX as a high‑interest name this week, which can increase volatility as different investor cohorts rotate in and out. Zacks: FCX attracting investor attention Yahoo Finance: FCX attracting investor attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentation at the BMO metals conference is available — useful for detail on guidance and project plans but not an immediate catalyst unless new guidance is released. BMO conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated junior miner exploration news (Max Resource) was circulated in market feeds but has no direct impact on Freeport’s fundamentals. Max Resource Mora sampling
• Negative Sentiment: Company CAO Stephen Higgins sold ~29,654 shares (~$63 avg) late February, trimming his holding by roughly 28% — insider sales can weigh on sentiment when they follow steep run‑ups. InsiderTrades: Insider selling alert
• Negative Sentiment: After a multi‑day advance, the stock snapped a six‑session winning streak as profit‑taking and short‑term repositioning occurred; that pullback is the proximate cause of today’s weaker price action. Seeking Alpha: Shares snap six‑session winning streak

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.