Headlands Technologies LLC Grows Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 30.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,344 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, American National Bank increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 348.8% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 745 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $49.96. 8,735,385 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,653,846. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.76 and a 200 day moving average of $45.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FCX. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.93.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.03, for a total value of $4,162,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,430,735.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $2,859,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 164,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,529,843.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.03, for a total transaction of $4,162,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,430,735.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 445,667 shares of company stock worth $22,755,070. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.