VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $3.23 Million Investment in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 46,100 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,227,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $62,478,000 after acquiring an additional 272,726 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 50,144 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 16,868 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,687,524 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $169,018,000 after acquiring an additional 117,888 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,970,872 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $627,068,000 after acquiring an additional 141,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,249,858 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $78,604,000 after acquiring an additional 182,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FCX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $62.88 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.26. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.54 and a fifty-two week high of $80.24. The company has a market capitalization of $90.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 13.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.0750 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 12.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 80,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,848 shares of company stock valued at $7,911,621. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.