Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,900 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 5,833 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $5,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. American National Bank lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 348.8% during the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 745 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 6,469.2% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 854 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,390,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,741,873. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.92. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.83 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.68 and a 200 day moving average of $46.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.07.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 43,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.08, for a total transaction of $2,242,412.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at $5,331,577.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of Freeport-McMoRan 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at $5,255,381.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 43,900 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.08, for a total transaction of $2,242,412.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,331,577.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 445,667 shares of company stock worth $22,755,070. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.