UBS Group AG Reduces Holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA $FMS

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 51,622 shares and leaving it with 101,827 shares worth about $2.43 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious, with analysts split between Hold and Sell ratings and an average recommendation of “Reduce,” alongside a $28.00 average target price.
• The company raised its annual dividend to $0.8716 per share from $0.79, while recent results showed $1.05 EPS on $5.34 billion in revenue for the quarter.

UBS Group AG lowered its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS - Free Report) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,827 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,622 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG's holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA were worth $2,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 6,856 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 264,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,299,000 after purchasing an additional 106,438 shares during the period. Diversified Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 45,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 14,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 24,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 5,595 shares in the last quarter. 8.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FMS. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a "strong sell" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Erste Group Bank cut Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $28.00.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Stock Performance

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA stock opened at $21.59 on Wednesday. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a 1-year low of $20.02 and a 1-year high of $29.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.01.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 8.90%. As a group, analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.8716 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA's previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 402.0%. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.11%.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA is the world's largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases. The company's primary business activities encompass the operation of dialysis clinics and the manufacture and distribution of dialysis equipment, dialysis machines, dialyzers, consumables and related therapies. Through its global network of clinics, Fresenius Medical Care delivers comprehensive kidney care, including hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatments, patient education and support services.

In its products segment, the company designs and produces dialysis machines, water treatment systems and disposables such as high‐flux dialyzers and bloodlines.

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.