Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,164,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,059 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.93% of FMC worth $56,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP boosted its position in FMC by 13.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 7,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its stake in FMC by 20.7% in the third quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 4,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of FMC in the third quarter worth about $350,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in FMC by 56.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in FMC by 15.5% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

FMC Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FMC opened at $40.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. FMC Co. has a 12 month low of $33.80 and a 12 month high of $68.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.61. 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 (NYSE:FMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. Equities research analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FMC shares. Vertical Research upgraded FMC to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on FMC in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded FMC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at FMC

In other news, insider Ronaldo Pereira acquired 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $35.77 per share, for a total transaction of $200,312.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 48,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,899.49. This trade represents a 12.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol Anthony Davidson acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $37.33 per share, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $223,980. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% 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.