Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “strong sell” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 14.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 160.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 23,163 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 5,127 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 141.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.37% of the company’s stock.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of FMS opened at $21.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.31 and a 200 day moving average of $22.97. The company has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.81. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a 52-week low of $20.02 and a 52-week high of $29.07.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 8.90%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.8716 dividend. This represents a yield of 402.0%. This is a boost from Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s payout ratio is presently 32.11%.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Company Profile

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA is the world’s largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases. The company’s primary business activities encompass the operation of dialysis clinics and the manufacture and distribution of dialysis equipment, dialysis machines, dialyzers, consumables and related therapies. Through its global network of clinics, Fresenius Medical Care delivers comprehensive kidney care, including hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatments, patient education and support services.

In its products segment, the company designs and produces dialysis machines, water treatment systems and disposables such as high‐flux dialyzers and bloodlines.