American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 93,451 Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) by 224.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,056 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 93,451 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.11% of FMC worth $6,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FMC during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in FMC by 217.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 746 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in FMC by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.86% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,407,107. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ronaldo Pereira bought 5,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.77 per share, with a total value of $200,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,837 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,899.49. This represents a 12.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

FMC Trading Down 9.3 %

FMC stock traded down $3.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.33. 3,675,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,009,638. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.83. FMC Co. has a 12 month low of $33.80 and a 12 month 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 fifty day simple moving average is $41.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.03.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 EPS for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.57%. FMC's payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FMC shares. Vertical Research upgraded FMC to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FMC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (down previously from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.15.

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.