Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Chairman Richard Adkerson Sells 152,960 Shares of Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Chairman Richard Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total value of $9,888,864.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,356,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,975,679.35. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $65.41 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $69.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.25 and a 200-day moving average of $46.58.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on FCX from $52 to $76 and kept a “buy” rating, implying additional upside and lending broker confidence to the stock. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reports that earnings estimate revisions for Freeport have trended higher (surging estimates), suggesting upward earnings momentum that can justify higher multiples and support near-term share gains. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple Zacks pieces and sector comparisons are increasing investor attention on FCX (coverage on relative performance, value thesis and peer comparisons). This broader visibility can amplify moves but is informational rather than a direct catalyst. FCX Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares on Feb. 11 at an average ~$64.65 (?$9.9M). Large insider sales can pressure sentiment despite company fundamentals; the filing is available on the SEC site. Adkerson Feb 11 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard C. Adkerson also sold 248,031 shares on Feb. 10 at an average ~$62.80 (?$15.6M), a separate large disposition disclosed in SEC filings. Adkerson Feb 10 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares on Feb. 11 at ~$64.52 (?$4.84M). While meaningful in size, executives still retain large holdings, which partly mitigates long-term governance concerns. Currault Feb 11 SEC Filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Clarkson Capital upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.35.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $336,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $185,379,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,418 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 561,610 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,524,000 after acquiring an additional 58,607 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 29,758 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 5,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.