FMC (NYSE:FMC) Stock Price Up 7% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) shot up 7% during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $65.38 and last traded at $65.23. 585,349 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,910,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.98.

The basic materials company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. FMC had a net margin of 29.45% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $918.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 31.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on FMC from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America cut shares of FMC from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of FMC from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $84.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on FMC in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on FMC from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at FMC

In other FMC news, CFO Andrew D. Sandifer bought 2,150 shares of FMC stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.22 per share, with a total value of $127,323.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,966,211.36. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in FMC by 4.6% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its stake in FMC by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its position in FMC by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 12,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC increased its stake in FMC by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in FMC by 27.7% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FMC Trading Up 9.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.79.

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 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.