Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stake Trimmed by Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 46.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,590 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 44,932 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $3,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 6,434.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 142,181,964 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $8,941,824,000 after acquiring an additional 140,006,047 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,244,504,000 after buying an additional 622,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after acquiring an additional 395,226 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,489,069,000 after buying an additional 7,044,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas Currault, II sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Stephen Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record copper prices are lifting the earnings outlook. Copper reportedly reached approximately $14,694 per ton, improving the potential revenue and cash-flow outlook for FCX. Because Freeport-McMoRan is a major copper producer, higher prices can provide significant operating leverage. Freeport-McMoRan shares surge as copper hits record $14,694 per ton Freeport-McMoRan stock gains strongly as record copper prices lift earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related demand is strengthening the long-term copper investment case. Analysts and investors cited rising electricity-generation, data-center and grid-investment needs as structural drivers that could tighten copper supply and benefit miners such as FCX. Investor Kevin Simpson reportedly views the miner’s volatility as acceptable given this upside potential. AI is fueling copper demand. Kevin Simpson thinks this volatile miner is worth the risk Copper Is the AI Trade No One Priced In
• Neutral Sentiment: FCX is attracting unusually high investor attention. Zacks reported that the stock is trending among its users, but the coverage emphasizes reviewing earnings expectations, valuation and fundamentals rather than announcing a specific change in the company’s outlook. Freeport-McMoRan Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: PT Freeport Indonesia extended its revolving credit facility. The financing update may support liquidity at FCX’s 48.76%-owned subsidiary, but it does not materially change the immediate copper-price or production thesis. Freeport-McMoRan Subsidiary Extends Revolving Credit Facility

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $76.35 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $80.24. The company has a market capitalization of $109.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a global mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, industrial equipment and renewable-energy technologies. The company also produces gold as a byproduct of its copper operations and molybdenum, an alloying metal used in steelmaking and other industrial applications.

Freeport-McMoRan operates major mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.