Perpetual Ltd Buys 42,580 Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd more than doubled its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX), buying 42,580 shares in Q4 to hold 85,067 shares worth about $8.6 million.
• Multiple large funds (AQR, Victory, Invesco, others) significantly increased positions recently, leaving institutional investors owning about 61% of the stock.
• FEMSA raised its quarterly dividend to $2.0531 (annualized $8.21), implying a 7.2% yield with a payout ratio of 80%, a noteworthy yield for income-focused investors.

Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 100.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,067 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,580 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $8,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FMX. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 11,692.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 716,029 shares of the company's stock worth $73,171,000 after purchasing an additional 709,957 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 12,960.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 599,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,176,000 after buying an additional 595,388 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Fomento Economico Mexicano during the third quarter worth $50,343,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 67.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,046,906 shares of the company's stock worth $103,256,000 after buying an additional 423,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 52.4% during the second quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 944,824 shares of the company's stock worth $97,298,000 after acquiring an additional 324,781 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FMX. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $110.67.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Up 0.0%

FMX stock opened at $114.80 on Friday. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a one year low of $83.08 and a one year high of $116.09. The stock has a market cap of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $109.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $12.21 billion for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 2.29% and a return on equity of 6.11%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $2.0531 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $8.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. This is an increase from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Fomento Economico Mexicano's payout ratio is currently 80.00%.

Insider Transactions at Fomento Economico Mexicano

In other news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,316 shares of the business'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 transaction of $539,377.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,337,712 shares in the company, valued at $13,791,810.72. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 156,948 shares of company stock worth $1,630,690 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Profile

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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