Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Buys New Shares in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,550 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. CM Management LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 80.0% during the third quarter. CM Management LLC now owns 36,000 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 345,917 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $14,726,000 after purchasing an additional 20,894 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 647,691 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $27,572,000 after purchasing an additional 240,340 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,508,085 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $279,977,000 after purchasing an additional 102,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 57.4% in the third quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,391,230 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $201,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,153,318.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at $5,255,381.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Richard C. Adkerson sold 169,229 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total value of $8,556,218.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,707,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,438,509.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,153,318.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at $5,255,381.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 445,667 shares of company stock valued at $22,755,070. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $51.16. 11,367,090 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,448,293. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $32.83 and a one year high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.35, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.51.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 6.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FCX. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.