Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 33,626 Shares of FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. sold 33,626 shares of FMC Corporation, reducing its stake by 83.3% to 6,731 shares valued at $284,000.
• FMC Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, with a significant annual yield of 6.4%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed sentiments on FMC, with the stock receiving upgrades and a consensus price target of $50.38, though it currently trades lower at around $36.47.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) by 83.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,731 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 33,626 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in FMC were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Harvest LLC bought a new stake in FMC during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of FMC during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of FMC by 66.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of FMC during the first quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of FMC in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 91.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded FMC from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on FMC from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on FMC from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of FMC from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of FMC from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FMC has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.38.

FMC Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of FMC stock opened at $36.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.94 and a 200-day moving average of $41.10. FMC Corporation has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $67.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.59, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.75.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. FMC had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 2.42%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FMC Corporation will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. FMC's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 290.00%.

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.

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