FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.08.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FMC. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of FMC from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of FMC from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

FMC Price Performance

NYSE FMC traded down $1.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.86. 2,533,092 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,667. FMC has a 1-year low of $47.73 and a 1-year high of $68.72. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.48.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.20. FMC had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 34.93%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. FMC's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that FMC will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 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 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. FMC's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.67, for a total transaction of $270,245.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,709,485.83. The trade was a 13.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FMC. Millburn Ridgefield Corp raised its holdings in FMC by 186.2% in the third quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 498 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FMC by 90.8% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 517 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of FMC by 250.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 554 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of FMC by 56.9% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 678 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in FMC during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.86% of the company's stock.

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.