FMC (NYSE:FMC) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $55.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. FMC traded as low as $49.24 and last traded at $49.39, with a volume of 1251347 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.70.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on FMC from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on FMC from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FMC currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.08.

Insider Transactions at FMC

In other news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.67, for a total value of $270,245.43. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,709,485.83. This represents a 13.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FMC

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barnett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in FMC during the third quarter worth about $2,265,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in shares of FMC by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 60,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,970,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of FMC by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,867,000 after buying an additional 9,449 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha lifted its holdings in shares of FMC by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 33,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after buying an additional 15,662 shares during the period. Finally, tru Independence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FMC in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,323,000. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FMC Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.20. FMC had a net margin of 34.93% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

About FMC

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.