AIA Group Ltd Raises Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 166,630 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,624 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $6,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. The trade was a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total transaction of $9,888,864.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,356,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,975,679.35. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock opened at $55.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $69.75. The company has a market cap of $79.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.21.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.59.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.