Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday. 1,968,625 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 152% from the average daily volume of 780,809 shares. The stock last traded at $22.0640 and had previously closed at $22.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FMS shares. Berenberg Bank set a $24.00 price target on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.90 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from $25.50 to $25.80 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.42.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Stock Down 1.8%

The stock has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.91.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.01). Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 16,617,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625,494 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,106,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,761,000 after purchasing an additional 290,200 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 341,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,701,000 after purchasing an additional 46,428 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 479.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 216,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,893,000 after purchasing an additional 179,418 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 5.2% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 135,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 6,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.37% of the company’s stock.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA is a healthcare company focused on treating people with chronic kidney failure. It provides dialysis care through a global network of treatment centers and supports patients who receive care in clinics or at home. The company also develops and supplies products used in dialysis, including dialysis machines, dialyzers, and related medical equipment and materials. Its services include clinical care and support for healthcare providers involved in kidney treatment.