59,779 Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd cut its FMX stake by 48.9% in the third quarter, selling 59,779 shares and retaining 62,552 shares valued at approximately $7.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 61% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with three Buy ratings and four Holds; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $135.67. Price targets range from $126 to $150.
• FEMSA declared a quarterly dividend of $1.7804 per share, or $7.12 annualized, yielding about 5.9%—a reduction from the previous $1.8270 quarterly payout.

Perpetual Ltd lowered its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 48.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,552 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,779 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $7,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 3.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,218,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,649,000 after acquiring an additional 193,432 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 9.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 613,753 shares of the company's stock worth $68,163,000 after purchasing an additional 54,786 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 44.9% during the first 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 period. Cook & Bynum Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the second quarter worth $29,857,616. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 13.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 236,168 shares of the company's stock worth $26,229,000 after purchasing an additional 27,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.67.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

Shares of FMX stock opened at $120.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.53 and a 200-day moving average of $121.27. The company has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a 52 week low of $90.87 and a 52 week high of $141.47.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be given a $1.7804 dividend. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 14th. This is a negative change from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous quarterly dividend of $1.8270. Fomento Economico Mexicano's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael David Kahn acquired 2,100 shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $118.13 per share, with a total value of $248,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $248,073. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

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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