Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Trims Stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. $FMX

Key Points

• Sustainable Growth Advisers LP cut its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 45,841 shares and ending with 155,439 shares worth about $15.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive: FMX has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, and several firms recently raised price targets, including UBS to $139 while Barclays and JPMorgan also lifted theirs.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.43 on revenue of $11.61 billion, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.6658 per share, equating to a 2.3% yield.

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP reduced its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,439 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,841 shares during the quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP's holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $15,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMX. Portland Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC now owns 40,002 shares of the company's stock worth $4,043,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the fourth quarter worth approximately $669,000. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Summitry LLC increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the company's stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,572 shares of the company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FMX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fomento Economico Mexicano has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fomento Economico Mexicano news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.19, for a total value of $585,360.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,128,453 shares in the company, valued at $12,627,389.07. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 261,575 shares of company stock valued at $2,795,188 in the last three months. 5.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

Shares of FMX stock opened at $117.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50 day moving average is $116.36 and its 200 day moving average is $108.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a 52-week low of $83.08 and a 52-week high of $125.71.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.61 billion for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.6658 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Fomento Economico Mexicano's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.47%.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.