Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,110,000 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,754,200,000. Freeport-McMoRan makes up about 100.0% of Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC owned 0.15% of Freeport-McMoRan at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 40.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,947,261 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $76,372,000 after acquiring an additional 565,090 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.7% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,363 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Clare Market Investments LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC now owns 26,806 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 4,875 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz SE raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz SE now owns 189,779 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $7,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $68.03 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $59.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.52. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $69.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.05, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total value of $15,576,346.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,509,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 603,140 shares of company stock worth $37,660,139 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FCX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.