Diversified Trust Co. Buys 17,211 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 219.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,046 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Iowa State Bank grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 49,059 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,628 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 45,133 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.7% in the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,404 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.59.

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $55.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.39 and a 200-day moving average of $50.57. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $69.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.41.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted 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. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

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.