LPL Financial LLC Purchases 3,208 Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately $1.72 million.
• The company reported earnings of $0.42 EPS for the last quarter, significantly missing analysts' estimates of $0.91 EPS, with a net margin of 2.60% and a revenue of $11.27 billion.
• Fomento Economico Mexicano recently boosted its dividend to $1.3625 from $0.73, which represents a yield of 200.0% based on its payout ratio of 74.83%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,599 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $1,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 831 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 1st quarter worth approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

FMX traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $86.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 586,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,287. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.25. The firm has a market cap of $31.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.66. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12 month low of $81.07 and a 12 month high of $108.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.49). Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.71 billion. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 17th were issued a $1.3625 dividend. This represents a $5.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 17th. This is a positive change from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Fomento Economico Mexicano's payout ratio is 74.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FMX. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (down from $132.00) on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fomento Economico Mexicano currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.16.

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.