FMC (NYSE:FMC) Trading 4.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) traded up 4.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $40.41 and last traded at $40.81. 399,470 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,051,169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on FMC in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (down from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of FMC from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.46.

FMC Trading Up 3.3%

The firm's 50 day moving average is $38.67 and its 200 day moving average is $45.00. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

FMC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. FMC's payout ratio is currently 88.55%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FMC

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FMC. Barclays PLC grew its position in FMC by 17.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 310,378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,465,000 after acquiring an additional 45,752 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of FMC by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FMC by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FMC by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,834 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 15,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in FMC in the 4th quarter worth $208,000. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FMC Company Profile

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.