Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,902,259 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154,137 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $113,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 34.0% during the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 142.5% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 61,062 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 35,878 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,400 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,986,000. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 7,096 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 2,074 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

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

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.6%

FCX stock opened at $68.38 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.33. The stock has a market cap of $98.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.29, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.87%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,529,149.19. This trade represents a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 603,140 shares of company stock worth $37,660,139 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.73.

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.