FMC (NYSE:FMC) Cut to “Neutral” at UBS Group

UBS Group downgraded shares of FMC (NYSE:FMC) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has $38.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $66.00.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on FMC. Citigroup increased their price target on FMC from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upgraded FMC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of FMC from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

FMC Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of FMC stock opened at $34.51 on Friday. FMC has a 52 week low of $33.80 and a 52 week high of $68.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.84.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 8.03%. Analysts predict that FMC will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.67, for a total transaction of $270,245.43. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 28,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,709,485.83. This trade represents a 13.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.25, for a total transaction of $163,429.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,107. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,491 shares of company stock valued at $433,898 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FMC

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of FMC by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,271,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,151,000 after buying an additional 1,343,615 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in FMC by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,509,000 after buying an additional 685,995 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP boosted its holdings in FMC by 2,129.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 440,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,037,000 after buying an additional 420,601 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in FMC by 2,531.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 253,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,695,000 after buying an additional 243,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of FMC by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 427,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,769,000 after acquiring an additional 143,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

About FMC

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.