Boston Partners Sells 21,812 Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Boston Partners cut its stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 902,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,812 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in FMC were worth $43,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FMC. State Street Corp raised its holdings in FMC by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,271,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,615 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in FMC by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $101,509,000 after purchasing an additional 685,995 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its stake in shares of FMC by 2,129.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 440,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,037,000 after acquiring an additional 420,601 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of FMC by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 427,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,769,000 after acquiring an additional 143,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of FMC in the 4th quarter worth about $5,573,000. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other FMC news, insider Ronaldo Pereira acquired 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.77 per share, for a total transaction of $200,312.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 48,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,899.49. This trade represents a 12.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Carol Anthony Davidson acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.33 per share, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,980. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

FMC Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FMC opened at $43.25 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. FMC Co. has a 52-week low of $33.80 and a 52-week high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. As a group, analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. FMC’s payout ratio is presently 85.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FMC. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of FMC in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of FMC from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of FMC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.15.

FMC Profile

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.