Biltmore Wealth Management LLC Sells 9,945 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Biltmore Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,374 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 9,945 shares during the quarter. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Iowa State Bank lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 49,059 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,628 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 45,133 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,571 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FCX. HSBC raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.75.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $61.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.30 and its 200-day moving average is $51.03. The company has a market cap of $88.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.