Citigroup Inc. Purchases 128,996 Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. by 44.5%, owning approximately 0.12% of the company worth $40.86 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have also raised their stakes in Fomento Economico Mexicano, with Royal Bank of Canada holding the largest position at 5,269,083 shares valued at $450.45 million.
• Fomento Economico Mexicano recently declared a $1.3625 dividend, significantly up from its previous $0.73 dividend, indicating a strong payout ratio of approximately 74.83%.

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 44.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 418,701 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 128,996 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.12% of Fomento Economico Mexicano worth $40,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FMX. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,269,083 shares of the company's stock worth $450,454,000 after buying an additional 274,467 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $184,540,000 after buying an additional 437,699 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings 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 worth $95,369,000 after purchasing an additional 52,673 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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 worth $81,898,000 after purchasing an additional 64,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 919,722 shares of the company's stock worth $89,754,000 after purchasing an additional 103,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FMX shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fomento Economico Mexicano has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.20.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Down 1.4%

FMX stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $84.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,516,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,263. The company has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.66. The business's 50 day moving average price is $98.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12 month low of $81.07 and a 12 month high of $114.33.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.71 billion. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 2.60%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th were issued a dividend of $1.3625 per share. This is a positive change from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous -- dividend of $0.73. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 17th. Fomento Economico Mexicano's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.83%.

About Fomento Economico Mexicano

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.