Acadian Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano, raising its holdings by 325.7% to a total of 383,644 shares worth approximately $37.4 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with Barclays and Morgan Stanley both reducing their price targets, while Citigroup upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano to a "buy" rating.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.73 to $1.3625 per share, reflecting a robust 6.3% dividend yield.

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 325.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 383,644 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 293,524 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of Fomento Economico Mexicano worth $37,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,369,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,003,000 after buying an additional 100,898 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 1st quarter valued at $330,437,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 105.4% during the 1st quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,112,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,139,000 after buying an additional 570,640 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $97.00 price target (down previously from $132.00) on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $93.00 to $97.00 in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.80.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

FMX stock opened at $86.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $91.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.01. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a twelve month low of $81.07 and a twelve month high of $108.74. The firm has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $1.3625 per share. This is an increase from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $5.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 17th. Fomento Economico Mexicano's payout ratio is 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.

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