Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 26,353 Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 640,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,353 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $71,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FMX. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 2,006.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 42.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 220.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FMX. Zacks Research upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fomento Economico Mexicano has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.50.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Price Performance

Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano stock opened at $132.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $126.01 and a 200 day moving average of $116.42. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12 month low of $83.08 and a 12 month high of $134.52. The firm has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 3.40%.The business had revenue of $11.61 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.827 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $7.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is an increase from Fomento Economico Mexicano’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Fomento Economico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.36%.

About Fomento Economico Mexicano

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V. (FEMSA) is a Mexican multinational company active primarily in the retail and beverage sectors. Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, FEMSA’s operations span convenience store retailing, beverage bottling and distribution, and related logistics and consumer services. The company’s business model combines high-frequency retail outlets with large-scale beverage production and a regional supply chain network.

FEMSA Comercio, the company’s retail arm, operates a large chain of convenience stores under the OXXO brand and has expanded its retail footprint with complementary formats and services.