Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) Plans Annual Dividend of $0.44

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) declared an annual dividend on Monday, April 15th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.437 per share on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th.

Fresenius Medical Care has decreased its dividend by an average of 5.5% per year over the last three years. Fresenius Medical Care has a dividend payout ratio of 32.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Fresenius Medical Care to earn $1.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.8%.

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE FMS opened at $18.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.42. Fresenius Medical Care has a 52-week low of $16.37 and a 52-week high of $27.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.48. The stock has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 4.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FMS. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 9.0% during the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the second quarter valued at about $140,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 2.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 7.3% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. 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.