LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,270 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in FMC were worth $7,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management boosted its position in FMC by 533.3% in the fourth quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in FMC by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in FMC during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in FMC in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Trustcore Financial Services LLC grew its stake in FMC by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Trustcore Financial Services LLC now owns 337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 86.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FMC Trading Up 0.1 %

FMC stock opened at $88.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.44. FMC Co. has a one year low of $86.61 and a one year high of $134.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.53.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.09). FMC had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. FMC’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that FMC Co. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. FMC’s payout ratio is 47.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FMC. Bank of America cut their price target on FMC from $139.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Credit Suisse Group upgraded FMC from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $101.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of FMC in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of FMC from $145.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered FMC from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FMC currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

FMC Company 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 include 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.