O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,057 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in FMC were worth $204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FMC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in FMC in the 4th quarter worth about $49,888,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of FMC by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,509,000 after purchasing an additional 685,995 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FMC by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 1,861,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,466,000 after purchasing an additional 241,582 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in FMC by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,291,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $743,338,000 after purchasing an additional 180,766 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in FMC by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 427,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,769,000 after purchasing an additional 143,770 shares during the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other FMC news, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.25, for a total transaction of $163,429.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,107. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carol Anthony Davidson bought 6,000 shares of FMC 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,980. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

FMC Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of FMC stock opened at $37.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.65. FMC Co. has a one year low of $32.83 and a one year high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 8.03%. Sell-side analysts expect that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FMC. Vertical Research raised FMC to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of FMC in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp cut their price target on FMC from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FMC has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.15.

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.