Federated Hermes Inc. Boosts Stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 418,388 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 78,200 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.34% of FMC worth $20,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WP Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in FMC by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FMC by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in FMC by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in FMC by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in FMC by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at FMC

In related news, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.25, for a total transaction of $163,429.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,107. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ronaldo Pereira acquired 5,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $35.77 per share, with a total value of $200,312.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 48,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,746,899.49. This trade represents a 12.95 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

FMC Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE FMC traded up $0.56 during trading on Monday, hitting $37.66. 179,074 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,031,185. The firm has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.24. FMC Co. has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. FMC's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FMC shares. UBS Group lowered shares of FMC from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target (down previously from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of FMC from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of FMC to a "hold" rating 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

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.