Institutions, insiders shift positions in Freeport

Several recent regulatory filings show notable shifts in institutional positions in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. during the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC reduced its stake by 52.0%, selling 54,980 shares and ending the period with 50,695 shares valued at $1,987,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP cut its holdings by 86.3%, selling 201,790 shares and retaining 31,976 shares worth $1,254,000.

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position by 3.3%, selling 24,773 shares and holding 734,194 shares at quarter-end, valued at $28,795,000, representing about 0.05% of the company. Other managers, including Great Lakes Advisors LLC and Summit Global Investments, increased their positions, indicating mixed but active institutional positioning.

Additional investors such as Wellington Management Group LLP and DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reported large increases earlier in the year. Wellington lifted its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 190.9% in the third quarter to 36,494,793 shares, while DZ BANK AG raised its position by 89.4% in the second quarter to 17,569,169 shares. Overall, institutional investors hold 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Company filings also show substantial insider selling in recent months. EVP/Chief Administrative Officer Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares at an average price of $63.00 on February 20, for proceeds of $1,868,202. Following the transaction, Higgins directly owned 76,445 shares, a 27.95% decrease in his position.

Chief Financial Officer Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares on February 13 at an average price of $61.55, for total proceeds of $2,985,175. Robertson’s direct ownership stood at 79,894 shares after the sale, a 37.77% reduction. Another CAO, Ellie L. Mikes, sold 11,000 shares on February 18 at an average price of $62.03, reducing her holdings to 40,773 shares, a 21.25% decrease.

Executive Vice President Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares on February 11 at an average of $64.52, for total proceeds of $4,839,000, and retained 219,181 shares afterward. Across the company, insiders sold 565,145 shares worth $35,839,918 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders collectively own 0.79% of the stock.

Freeport-McMoRan’s latest reported results show it earned $0.47 per share (adjusted) in the quarter ended January 22, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19; GAAP net income per share was $0.28. Revenue was $5.63 billion, ahead of expectations of $5.42 billion but down 1.5% from the same quarter a year earlier. Net margin and return on equity were both 8.50%, and earnings per share in the prior-year quarter were $0.31.

Analysts on average expect the company to post earnings of $1.68 per share for the current fiscal year. The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share on February 2 to shareholders of record as of January 15, representing an annualized dividend of $0.30 and a yield of 0.5%. The dividend payout ratio stands at 19.87%.

On the market, Freeport-McMoRan shares recently opened at $57.89, up 2.7%, with a 12‑month range between $27.66 and $69.75. The company has a market capitalization of $83.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.41. Liquidity and leverage metrics include a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Brokerage coverage remains broadly positive. Multiple firms, including Argus, Jefferies Financial Group, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Scotiabank and Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (DBKd), have recently issued buy or overweight ratings while increasing price targets. For example, Jefferies lifted its price objective to $76.00, and Wells Fargo (WFC) raised its target to $64.00.

Wall Street Zen recently downgraded the stock from buy to hold, but overall sentiment is classified as a "Moderate Buy." Across the analyst group, one has issued a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have Buy ratings and three have Hold ratings, with a consensus price target of $62.59, according to MarketBeat data.