FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,649 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of FMC worth $3,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of FMC by 8.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in FMC by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,736 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in FMC by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 46,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in FMC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,824,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of FMC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $151,000. 91.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FMC has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut shares of FMC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $66.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of FMC in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of FMC from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of FMC in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.15.

Insider Transactions at FMC

In other news, insider Ronaldo Pereira acquired 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.77 per share, for a total transaction of $200,312.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of FMC 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,107. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

FMC Stock Performance

Shares of FMC stock opened at $42.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.46. 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 12 month low of $33.80 and a 12 month high of $68.72.

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

FMC Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders 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 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. FMC’s payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

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.