FMC (NYSE:FMC) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FMC (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on FMC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on FMC from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho raised shares of FMC from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded FMC to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FMC presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.46.

FMC Price Performance

Shares of FMC stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.71. 1,423,285 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,054,750. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. FMC has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $68.55. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $38.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.36.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.10. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The company had revenue of $791.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $783.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FMC will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.84%. FMC's payout ratio is currently 88.55%.

Insider Activity at FMC

In related news, insider Ronaldo Pereira purchased 5,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.77 per share, with a total value of $200,312.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 48,837 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,899.49. The trade was a 12.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Carol Anthony Davidson acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $37.33 per share, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $223,980. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FMC

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in FMC by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,164,403 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $56,602,000 after buying an additional 28,059 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FMC during the 4th quarter valued at $5,573,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in FMC in the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in FMC by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,416 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in FMC by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.86% of the company's stock.

About FMC

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.