Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Raises Stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 1,458.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 59,788 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.05% of FMC worth $3,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WP Advisors LLC lifted its position in FMC by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FMC by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in FMC by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of FMC by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in FMC by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

FMC Trading Up 0.5 %

FMC stock opened at $36.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.80. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.32. FMC Co. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.10. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $791.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $783.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that FMC Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carol Anthony Davidson acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.33 per share, with a total value of $223,980.00. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ronaldo Pereira bought 5,600 shares of FMC stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $35.77 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FMC. UBS Group boosted their target price on FMC from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho raised FMC from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of FMC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of FMC from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.46.

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.