Pitcairn Co. Acquires 447 Shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX)

Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,441 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Fomento Económico Mexicano were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FMX. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 12,655,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,081,939,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150,913 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 4,228,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,716,000 after purchasing an additional 717,666 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 728,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,258,000 after purchasing an additional 317,887 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,238,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,832,000 after buying an additional 205,981 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Fomento Económico Mexicano during the third quarter worth about $19,856,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Price Performance

Shares of FMX opened at $96.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.31. Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 52-week low of $81.08 and a 52-week high of $130.00.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($1.05). The company had revenue of $9.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.67 billion. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 3.22%. Sell-side analysts predict that Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.9201 dividend. This is a positive change from Fomento Económico Mexicano’s previous dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Fomento Económico Mexicano’s payout ratio is 11.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FMX. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $109.00 to $97.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.95.

About Fomento Económico Mexicano

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.