Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 368,617 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the previous session's volume of 426,531 shares.The stock last traded at $19.31 and had previously closed at $18.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.48. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.32 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given 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 currently 45.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 21.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 4,522 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 7,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 74,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 73,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter worth about $301,000. 8.25% of the stock is owned by 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.