Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 6.3%, owning 103,621 shares valued at approximately $10 million after adding 6,115 shares in the first quarter.
• Citigroup Inc. raised its position in the company by 44.5%, now holding 418,701 shares worth nearly $40.9 million, indicative of significant hedge fund interest in Fomento Economico Mexicano.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.42 for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates, and announced a new dividend payment of $1.3625 per share, reflecting a substantial increase from its previous dividend.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,621 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,115 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $10,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 44.5% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 418,701 shares of the company's stock worth $40,857,000 after buying an additional 128,996 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,367,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 35.0% during the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 38,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,809,000 after purchasing an additional 9,868 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 17.3% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 60,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,876,000 after purchasing an additional 8,866 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano during the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FMX shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.20.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Down 0.7%

FMX opened at $86.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $99.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.42. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a one year low of $81.07 and a one year 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.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.71 billion. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 5.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 firm also recently announced a -- 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 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 17th. 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.

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