Easterly Investment Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 71.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,118 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 72,258 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.6% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 518,068 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $19,319,000 after buying an additional 31,891 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,049,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 124,113 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,628,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,188 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $40,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.0 %

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $1.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.83. 4,244,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,772,859. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.58. The company has a market capitalization of $74.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.51, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.92. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 6.97%. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 43,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.08, for a total value of $2,242,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at $5,331,577.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Freeport-McMoRan news, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 164,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,529,843.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,331,577.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, 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.

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.