Insider Selling: Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) EVP Sells $4,839,000.00 in Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $62.82 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.82. The firm has a market cap of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $69.44. 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 (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FCX. Scotiabank upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.26.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on FCX to $75 (from $56) and kept an “outperform” rating — a sizeable lift to upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded FCX from “hold” to “buy,” reinforcing buy-side momentum and contributing to short‑term demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker actions (Stifel raised its target to $76; UBS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley have recently lifted targets) add to the analyst-driven narrative supporting higher valuations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other research outlets highlight rising earnings-estimate revisions and momentum characteristics for FCX, which can justify multiple expansion if commodity prices and volumes cooperate. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased media and analyst attention (multiple Zacks pieces, MSN/Yahoo coverage) is amplifying flows into FCX but is informational rather than a direct operational catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Grasberg production setbacks materially reduced Q4 copper/gold volumes, a real operational headwind that can limit near-term revenue despite stronger prices. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales: Chairman Richard Adkerson disclosed multi-hundred-thousand‑share disposals (Feb. 10–11 filings) totaling tens of millions of dollars — these trades can sap sentiment even if explained by diversification or tax planning. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares (~$4.8M); insider selling at the executive level is a nearer-term negative for perception of internal conviction. Read More.

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.