Kempner Capital Management Inc. Has $2.98 Million Holdings in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Kempner Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 188.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 40,060 shares during the period. Kempner Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in FMC were worth $2,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millburn Ridgefield Corp grew its position in shares of FMC by 186.2% during the 3rd quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in FMC by 90.8% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of FMC by 250.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of FMC during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of FMC in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

FMC Stock Performance

NYSE:FMC opened at $56.45 on Friday. FMC Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.71 and a fifty-two week high of $68.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 4.86, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.72 and its 200 day moving average is $58.95.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.20. FMC had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 34.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Insider Transactions at FMC

In other news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.67, for a total transaction of $270,245.43. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,709,485.83. This trade represents a 13.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.25, for a total value of $163,429.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,107. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,491 shares of company stock worth $433,898. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FMC shares. Bank of America raised FMC from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $63.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of FMC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on FMC from $79.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on FMC from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.75.

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.