Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases 41,900 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 533,667 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 41,900 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $20,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 126,983,947 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $5,504,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941,662 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.2% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,358,715 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,703,250,000 after buying an additional 1,926,493 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,787,174 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,678,474,000 after buying an additional 320,514 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,671,223 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $849,945,000 after acquiring an additional 435,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 89.4% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 8,292,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $65.41 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.58. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.44. The company has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,059.06. This represents a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 513,986 shares of company stock worth $32,124,432. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, CICC Research upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.35.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

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 maintained a “buy” rating, giving the stock a notable broker-backed upside case that can support further inflows. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights that earnings estimate revisions for Freeport have trended higher (“surging estimates”), which supports valuation expansion and helps explain near-term upward price momentum. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader coverage from Zacks (sector comparisons, value/momentum write-ups) is increasing investor attention on FCX; useful for volume and sentiment but not a direct fundamental catalyst. FCX Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares on Feb. 11 at about $64.65 (~$9.9M); large insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even if explained by diversification or planned liquidity. Adkerson Feb 11 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Adkerson also sold 248,031 shares on Feb. 10 at roughly $62.80 (~$15.6M) in a separate transaction; multiple large sales over consecutive days amplify potential negative headlines. Adkerson Feb 10 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares on Feb. 11 at ~ $64.52 (~$4.84M). While still retaining a large stake, the sale is another near-term negative for insider-sentiment metrics. Currault Feb 11 SEC Filing

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.