Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Iowa State Bank

Iowa State Bank reduced its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,846 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 14,322 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,441 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.9% in the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 117,204 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,597,000 after acquiring an additional 23,334 shares during the period. Momentum Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,459,000. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,576,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $47.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.54. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $49.12. The company has a market cap of $68.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Scotiabank upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.73.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.