Fresenius Medical Care AG Announces Annual Dividend of $0.44 (NYSE:FMS)

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) declared an annual dividend on Monday, April 15th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.437 per share on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th.

Fresenius Medical Care has decreased its dividend by an average of 5.5% annually over the last three years. Fresenius Medical Care has a payout ratio of 32.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Fresenius Medical Care to earn $1.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.8%.

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Up 2.0 %

FMS stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.97. The company had a trading volume of 278,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,386. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.48. Fresenius Medical Care has a 12 month low of $16.37 and a 12 month high of $27.72. The stock has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 4.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.32 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 2nd quarter worth about $140,000. Quilter Plc bought a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 1st quarter worth about $1,824,421,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. 8.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on FMS shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Fresenius Medical Care from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Fresenius Medical Care from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.25.

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.