Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.85, but opened at $30.46. Fresenius Medical Care shares last traded at $30.32, with a volume of 96,041 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on FMS shares. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Fresenius Medical Care in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Fresenius Medical Care from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fresenius Medical Care presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.80.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Down 1.2%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.85.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Fresenius Medical Care had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 6.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. Equities analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.7871 per share. This is an increase from Fresenius Medical Care's previous annual dividend of $0.44. This represents a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Fresenius Medical Care's payout ratio is currently 49.11%.

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 18.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,902 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 58,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 8.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fresenius Medical Care

Fresenius Medical Care AG provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure.