Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 154,137 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,902,259 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 154,137 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $113,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.8% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 30,333 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 45,133 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 6,658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,491 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $53.50 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $68.38 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 $59.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.33. 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 $98.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.29, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 19.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 603,140 shares of company stock worth $37,660,139 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Life‑of‑resource operating rights extension at Grasberg and related commitments (retaining Freeport’s majority stake through the extended term) materially reduce regulatory timing risk for a flagship asset and underpin the recent multi‑day rally. Freeport‑McMoRan Grasberg Deal Reshapes Long Term Risk And Reward
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets (several firms raising ratings/targets) are supporting buy‑side interest and helped fuel the recent market cap gain. MarketBeat: Analyst coverage roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger base‑metals momentum—especially copper as Chinese trading activity returned—improves Freeport’s near‑term revenue outlook and makes miners’ cash flows more attractive. Copper leads base metals higher as Chinese traders return
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and investor attention pieces (Zacks, Yahoo) highlight FCX as a high‑interest name this week, which can increase volatility as different investor cohorts rotate in and out. Zacks: FCX attracting investor attention Yahoo Finance: FCX attracting investor attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentation at the BMO metals conference is available — useful for detail on guidance and project plans but not an immediate catalyst unless new guidance is released. BMO conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated junior miner exploration news (Max Resource) was circulated in market feeds but has no direct impact on Freeport’s fundamentals. Max Resource Mora sampling
• Negative Sentiment: Company CAO Stephen Higgins sold ~29,654 shares (~$63 avg) late February, trimming his holding by roughly 28% — insider sales can weigh on sentiment when they follow steep run‑ups. InsiderTrades: Insider selling alert
• Negative Sentiment: After a multi‑day advance, the stock snapped a six‑session winning streak as profit‑taking and short‑term repositioning occurred; that pullback is the proximate cause of today’s weaker price action. Seeking Alpha: Shares snap six‑session winning streak

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.