Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp decreased its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,003 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 32,657 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $13,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6,469.2% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 854 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 122.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.45. The stock had a trading volume of 14,498,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,456,276. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.87. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $52.52. The company has a market capitalization of $72.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.65, a P/E/G ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,153,318.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,255,381.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Freeport-McMoRan news, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $2,859,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 164,067 shares in the company, valued at $8,529,843.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,153,318.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,255,381.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 310,896 shares of company stock worth $15,811,399 over the last ninety days. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.