Syntax Research Inc. Sells 39,509 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Syntax Research Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 75.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,664 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 39,509 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan makes up 0.6% of Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Essex Bank grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $72.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 14.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.27.

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.