Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Purchases 58,920 Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX

Key Points

• Northcape Capital boosted its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE: FMX) by 15.1%, adding 58,920 shares to hold 448,439 shares valued at about $46.28 million, making FMX its 6th-largest holding (5.2% of the portfolio).
• Fomento Economico Mexicano raised its quarterly dividend to $2.0531 (annualized $8.21), implying a 7.2% yield with a payout ratio of 80%.
• Analysts from Goldman Sachs and UBS raised price targets and gave "buy" ratings (to $128 and $122 respectively), but the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Hold" with a $110.67 target.

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 448,439 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 58,920 shares during the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano comprises about 5.2% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd's holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $46,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 43.3% in the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 137,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,516,000 after acquiring an additional 41,400 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 319,300 shares of the company's stock worth $31,493,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA raised its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 518,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,143,000 after purchasing an additional 93,997 shares in the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 90,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,901,000 after purchasing an additional 24,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 143,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,189,000 after purchasing an additional 63,865 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fomento Economico Mexicano currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.67.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Price Performance

NYSE FMX opened at $114.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.20. The company has a market cap of $39.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.40. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a 1 year low of $83.08 and a 1 year high of $116.09.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 2.29% and a return on equity of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.21 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $2.0531 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $8.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. This is a boost from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Fomento Economico Mexicano's payout ratio is presently 80.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fomento Economico Mexicano news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.31, for a total value of $539,377.96. Following the sale, the director owned 1,337,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,791,810.72. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,948 shares of company stock worth $1,630,690. 5.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Fomento Economico Mexicano

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V. (FEMSA) is a Mexican multinational company active primarily in the retail and beverage sectors. Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, FEMSA's operations span convenience store retailing, beverage bottling and distribution, and related logistics and consumer services. The company's business model combines high-frequency retail outlets with large-scale beverage production and a regional supply chain network.

FEMSA Comercio, the company's retail arm, operates a large chain of convenience stores under the OXXO brand and has expanded its retail footprint with complementary formats and services.

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