Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 19,562 Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) by 103.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,560 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,562 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in FMC were worth $1,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in FMC by 27.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,271,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $417,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,615 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FMC by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,136,344 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $74,931,000 after purchasing an additional 20,350 shares in the last quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of FMC by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 665,979 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,915,000 after purchasing an additional 9,834 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its stake in FMC by 2,129.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 440,353 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,037,000 after purchasing an additional 420,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S&CO Inc. raised its holdings in FMC by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 350,863 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,135,000 after buying an additional 12,193 shares during the period. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (down from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.23.

FMC Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE FMC traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $37.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,934,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,023,227. FMC Co. has a 1-year low of $33.80 and a 1-year high of $68.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $48.97 and its 200-day moving average is $57.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.84.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 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%. On average, analysts expect that FMC Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. FMC's dividend payout ratio is 85.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of FMC stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,407,107. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

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.