Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3.24 Million Stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC - Free Report) by 72.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,006 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.05% of FMC worth $3,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in shares of FMC by 18.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 60,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,970,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in FMC by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 227,328 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,050,000 after acquiring an additional 39,230 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of FMC by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,164,403 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $56,602,000 after acquiring an additional 28,059 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of FMC by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 164,887 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,015,000 after purchasing an additional 14,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of FMC in the fourth quarter worth $5,573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.86% of the company's stock.

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FMC Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FMC stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,326,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,035,820. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.83. 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 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $68.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.36.

FMC (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 8.03%. Equities research analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. FMC's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FMC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of FMC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of FMC from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (down from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on FMC from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.31.

Insider Activity at FMC

In related news, insider Ronaldo Pereira bought 5,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.77 per share, with a total value of $200,312.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 48,837 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,899.49. The trade was a 12.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 $1,407,107. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.