ABC Arbitrage SA Invests $1.37 Million in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX)

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA has acquired 14,008 shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX), valued at approximately $1,367,000, during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
• Fomento Economico Mexicano reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.42, missing analysts' estimates significantly, leading to a 2.60% net margin.
• The company recently announced a dividend of $1.3625 per share, which is a substantial increase from its previous dividend of $0.73, indicating a significant commitment to returning value to shareholders.

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,367,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,269,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,454,000 after acquiring an additional 274,467 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 540.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,147,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,084,000 after buying an additional 2,655,962 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,158,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,540,000 after buying an additional 437,699 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 977,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,369,000 after buying an additional 52,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 957,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,898,000 after buying an additional 64,914 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.20.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Price Performance

NYSE FMX traded down $1.42 on Friday, hitting $86.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,261,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,128. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a 52-week low of $81.07 and a 52-week high of $114.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $31.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.94 and a 200-day moving average of $98.22.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.49). Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.71 billion. Equities analysts expect that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th were issued a $1.3625 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 17th. This is a positive change from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous -- dividend of $0.73. Fomento Economico Mexicano's payout ratio is currently 74.83%.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Profile

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.