Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Shares Gap Down to $21.48

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.48, but opened at $20.98. Fresenius Medical Care shares last traded at $20.90, with a volume of 62,603 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FMS. StockNews.com upgraded Fresenius Medical Care from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered Fresenius Medical Care from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.46. The firm has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.437 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.74%.

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. 8.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fresenius Medical Care Company Profile

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.