Keene & Associates Inc. Sells 1,371 Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Keene & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,371 shares during the period. Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings in FMC were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FMC. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in FMC by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 4,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of FMC by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of FMC by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 17,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in FMC by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in FMC by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 37,946 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 3,504 shares during the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FMC Stock Up 3.8 %

FMC stock opened at $38.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50-day moving average is $48.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.22. FMC Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.80 and a fifty-two week high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. As a group, analysts forecast that FMC Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. FMC’s payout ratio is 85.29%.

Insider Transactions at FMC

In related news, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 25,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,107. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FMC. Redburn Atlantic cut FMC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of FMC to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target (down previously from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on FMC from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.23.

FMC Company Profile

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.