FMC (NYSE:FMC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of FMC (NYSE:FMC) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $49.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of FMC from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded FMC from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Vertical Research raised FMC to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on FMC from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.92.

FMC Trading Up 1.0 %

FMC opened at $41.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.83. FMC has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $68.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 8.03%. As a group, research analysts predict that FMC 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, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.63%. FMC’s payout ratio is 85.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ronaldo Pereira acquired 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $35.77 per share, with a total value of $200,312.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol Anthony Davidson bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.33 per share, with a total value of $223,980.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,980. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FMC

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FMC by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,291,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $743,338,000 after buying an additional 180,766 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in FMC by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,375,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $212,714,000 after acquiring an additional 321,241 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in FMC by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,559,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $173,008,000 after purchasing an additional 977,110 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in FMC by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,995,691 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $145,452,000 after purchasing an additional 54,017 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of FMC by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,286,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,131,000 after purchasing an additional 707,727 shares during the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.