Fisher Funds Management LTD Invests $2.16 Million in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 44,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,164,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FMC during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp boosted its stake in FMC by 186.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in FMC by 90.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in FMC during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $163,429.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,107. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of FMC from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.23.

FMC Price Performance

NYSE:FMC opened at $38.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.73. FMC Co. has a 1-year low of $33.80 and a 1-year high of $68.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.84.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.06%. FMC’s payout ratio is 85.29%.

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.