Analysts Set Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Target Price at $135.75

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.75.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lowered shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Price Performance

FMX traded down $1.09 on Friday, reaching $124.24. The company had a trading volume of 635,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,672. Fomento Económico Mexicano has a 1 year low of $91.71 and a 1 year high of $143.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.87.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.21 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Fomento Económico Mexicano will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $1.115 per share. This is a positive change from Fomento Económico Mexicano's previous annual dividend of $0.74. This represents a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. Fomento Económico Mexicano's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.39%.

Institutional Trading of Fomento Económico Mexicano

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 2.0% in the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 97,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 170.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,941,000 after buying an additional 11,204 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano during the third quarter valued at approximately $456,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 11.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,880,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,266,000 after buying an additional 193,543 shares during the period. Finally, Black Creek Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 10.1% during the third quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 774,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,550,000 after buying an additional 71,093 shares during the period.

About Fomento Económico Mexicano

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.