AXQ Capital LP Raises Stock Position in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

AXQ Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) by 535.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,649 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in FMC were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FMC by 224.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 135,056 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,565,000 after purchasing an additional 93,451 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in FMC by 2,372.7% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 70,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,404,000 after buying an additional 67,194 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in FMC by 115.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 40,084 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of FMC in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FMC by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 73,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,590,000 after acquiring an additional 30,368 shares in the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,407,107. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol Anthony Davidson bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $37.33 per share, with a total value of $223,980.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $223,980. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FMC shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lowered FMC from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Vertical Research raised shares of FMC to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FMC in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.15.

FMC Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE FMC traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $42.13. 2,247,891 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,903,285. FMC Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.80 and a fifty-two week high of $68.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that FMC Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. FMC's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.29%.

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.