Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Makes New Investment in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 51,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of FMC by 43.3% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in FMC by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 94,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 9,772 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in FMC by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,271,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,615 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in FMC by 86.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 63,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,173,000 after purchasing an additional 29,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of FMC in the third quarter valued at about $285,000. 91.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FMC Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of FMC opened at $33.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.42. FMC Co. has a 12 month low of $33.45 and a 12 month high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. Analysts predict that FMC Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FMC

In other FMC news, Director Carol Anthony Davidson bought 6,000 shares of FMC stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $37.33 per share, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,980. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ronaldo Pereira purchased 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $35.77 per share, for a total transaction of $200,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,746,899.49. The trade was a 12.95 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FMC shares. Vertical Research upgraded FMC to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of FMC in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of FMC in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.15.

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.