Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Sees Large Volume Increase

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 368,617 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 426,531 shares.The stock last traded at $19.31 and had previously closed at $18.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Fresenius Medical Care from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Equities analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.437 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the second quarter worth approximately $140,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the first quarter worth approximately $1,824,421,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 8.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fresenius Medical Care Company Profile

Fresenius Medical Care AG provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure.