FMC Corporation $FMC Stock Position Raised by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in FMC Corporation by 22.7%, owning approximately 2.28 million shares worth $96.37 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• FMC announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, payable on October 16th, with a 6.2% yield and an unusually high payout ratio of 290%.
• Analysts project FMC will achieve an earnings per share (EPS) of 3.48 for the current year, while the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $49.58.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,284,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 423,210 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 1.83% of FMC worth $96,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FMC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of FMC by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 150,937 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,337,000 after acquiring an additional 57,360 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of FMC by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 217,734 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,584,000 after acquiring an additional 17,487 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FMC during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,573,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of FMC by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 54,754 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,662,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in FMC by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.86% of the company's stock.

FMC Stock Performance

NYSE:FMC traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,254,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,555. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.78, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.75. FMC Corporation has a twelve month low of $32.83 and a twelve month high of $67.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.09.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. FMC had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that FMC Corporation will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. FMC's payout ratio is currently 290.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FMC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of FMC from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.58.

FMC Company Profile

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.