Brandes Investment Partners LP Purchases 13,768 Shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Free Report) by 163.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,189 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,768 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP's holdings in Fomento Económico Mexicano were worth $1,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 12,655,733 shares of the company's stock worth $1,081,939,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,913 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 267.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 313,602 shares of the company's stock worth $30,956,000 after buying an additional 228,284 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Fomento Económico Mexicano during the third quarter worth about $19,856,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 815,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,743,000 after acquiring an additional 180,244 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 924,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,050,000 after acquiring an additional 177,843 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Fomento Económico Mexicano from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $109.00 to $97.80 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.95.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE FMX traded down $0.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $98.80. The stock had a trading volume of 365,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 526,308. Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12 month low of $81.07 and a 12 month high of $131.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company's 50-day moving average price is $89.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.55. The company has a market capitalization of $35.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.87.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($1.05). The business had revenue of $9.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.67 billion. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 3.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.9201 dividend. This is a boost from Fomento Económico Mexicano's previous dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Fomento Económico Mexicano's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.03%.

About Fomento Económico Mexicano

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.