Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Shares Gap Down to $21.42

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.42, but opened at $19.87. Fresenius Medical Care shares last traded at $19.94, with a volume of 69,024 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FMS shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Fresenius Medical Care in a research report on Saturday. They set a "strong-buy" rating for the company. 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, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $19.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.65. The firm has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.437 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,228 shares of the company's stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 5,078 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the first quarter worth $110,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the first quarter worth $1,293,000. Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 172.2% during the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 53,023 shares of the company's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 33,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the 1st quarter valued at $584,000. 8.25% 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.