Syntax Research Inc. Takes Position in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Syntax Research Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 30,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,463,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in shares of FMC by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 60,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in FMC by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 227,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,050,000 after buying an additional 39,230 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FMC by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,867,000 after buying an additional 9,449 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha boosted its holdings in FMC by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 33,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,238,000 after buying an additional 15,662 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FMC by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,164,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,602,000 after buying an additional 28,059 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FMC. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of FMC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of FMC to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carol Anthony Davidson purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.33 per share, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,980. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.25, for a total transaction of $163,429.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

FMC Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE FMC opened at $41.62 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.43. 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 market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. FMC Co. has a 12-month low of $33.80 and a 12-month high of $68.72.

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, 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. FMC’s dividend 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.