Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Increases Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 756.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,190 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 21,366 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 89.4% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 8,292,873 shares during the last quarter. Crake Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 60.6% in the second quarter. Crake Asset Management LLP now owns 9,522,673 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $412,808,000 after buying an additional 3,593,050 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 289.0% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,844,504 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $150,781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856,302 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 205.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,186,621 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $181,490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 139.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,327,245 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $187,586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,518,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $68.38 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $98.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Life‑of‑resource operating rights extension at Grasberg and related commitments (retaining Freeport’s majority stake through the extended term) materially reduce regulatory timing risk for a flagship asset and underpin the recent multi‑day rally. Freeport‑McMoRan Grasberg Deal Reshapes Long Term Risk And Reward
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets (several firms raising ratings/targets) are supporting buy‑side interest and helped fuel the recent market cap gain. MarketBeat: Analyst coverage roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger base‑metals momentum—especially copper as Chinese trading activity returned—improves Freeport’s near‑term revenue outlook and makes miners’ cash flows more attractive. Copper leads base metals higher as Chinese traders return
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and investor attention pieces (Zacks, Yahoo) highlight FCX as a high‑interest name this week, which can increase volatility as different investor cohorts rotate in and out. Zacks: FCX attracting investor attention Yahoo Finance: FCX attracting investor attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentation at the BMO metals conference is available — useful for detail on guidance and project plans but not an immediate catalyst unless new guidance is released. BMO conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated junior miner exploration news (Max Resource) was circulated in market feeds but has no direct impact on Freeport’s fundamentals. Max Resource Mora sampling
• Negative Sentiment: Company CAO Stephen Higgins sold ~29,654 shares (~$63 avg) late February, trimming his holding by roughly 28% — insider sales can weigh on sentiment when they follow steep run‑ups. InsiderTrades: Insider selling alert
• Negative Sentiment: After a multi‑day advance, the stock snapped a six‑session winning streak as profit‑taking and short‑term repositioning occurred; that pullback is the proximate cause of today’s weaker price action. Seeking Alpha: Shares snap six‑session winning streak

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. CICC Research upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Argus raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.73.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. The trade was a 37.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 603,140 shares of company stock valued at $37,660,139 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.