Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 17,487 Shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,487 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.17% of FMC worth $10,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FMC in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of FMC in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of FMC during the third quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of FMC by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FMC Stock Down 0.1 %

FMC stock opened at $37.36 on Thursday. FMC Co. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $68.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.83.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that FMC Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 6.21%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Redburn Atlantic downgraded FMC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of FMC to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target (down from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FMC news, insider Ronaldo Pereira bought 5,600 shares of the business’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 acquisition, the insider now owns 48,837 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,899.49. This trade represents a 12.95 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carol Anthony Davidson bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.33 per share, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,980. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.