FMC (NYSE:FMC) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

FMC (NYSE:FMC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FMC. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on FMC from $79.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

FMC Price Performance

NYSE FMC opened at $34.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. FMC has a 1 year low of $33.80 and a 1 year high of $68.72. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 2.97, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.37.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a net margin of 34.93% and a return on equity of 7.68%. On average, analysts predict that FMC will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of FMC by 3.7% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. WP Advisors LLC grew its holdings in FMC by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in FMC by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in FMC by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FMC by 90.8% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

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.