119,174 Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX Shares Bought by Ninety One North America Inc.

Key Points

• Ninety One North America more than doubled its FMX stake in the third quarter, purchasing 119,174 additional shares to hold 226,502 shares valued at approximately $26.9 million.
• Institutional investors own about 61% of Fomento Economico Mexicano, while analyst sentiment remains mixed: three analysts rate the stock Buy and four rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and $135.67 target price.
• FEMSA declared a quarterly dividend of $1.7804 per share, down from $1.8270 previously, representing an annualized dividend of $7.12 and a 5.8% yield.

Ninety One North America Inc. raised its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 226,502 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 119,174 shares during the period. Fomento Economico Mexicano accounts for approximately 1.4% of Ninety One North America Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Ninety One North America Inc. owned about 0.07% of Fomento Economico Mexicano worth $26,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMX. Cook & Bynum Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the second quarter worth about $29,857,616. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,218,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,649,000 after purchasing an additional 193,432 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 2nd quarter worth $18,937,000. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 462,624 shares of the company's stock worth $51,386,000 after purchasing an additional 143,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 3,193.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 78,605 shares of the company's stock worth $8,730,000 after purchasing an additional 76,218 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fomento Economico Mexicano

In related news, Director Michael David Kahn purchased 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $118.13 per share, for a total transaction of $248,073.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $248,073. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FMX. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Fomento Economico Mexicano has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.67.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

Shares of FMX stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $121.93. The stock had a trading volume of 192,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,921. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $119.46 and its 200 day moving average is $121.37. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a twelve month low of $90.87 and a twelve month high of $141.47.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $13.20 billion for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 7.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.7804 per share. This is a decrease from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous quarterly dividend of $1.8270. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 14th. Fomento Economico Mexicano's dividend payout ratio is 48.60%.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Company Profile

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V. (FEMSA) is a Mexico-based multinational company with operations in beverage production, retail, and logistics. Through Coca-Cola FEMSA, it produces, distributes, and markets Coca-Cola products and other beverages under a portfolio that includes soft drinks, bottled water, juices, and related products.

Coca-Cola FEMSA serves customers across several Latin American markets, including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Venezuela.

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