AREX Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 3,255 Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX)

AREX Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000. Fomento Económico Mexicano makes up 0.4% of AREX Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FMX. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 441,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,751,000 after purchasing an additional 154,433 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 957,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,898,000 after buying an additional 64,914 shares during the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 625,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,449,000 after acquiring an additional 170,853 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 13,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FMX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $109.00 to $97.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Fomento Económico Mexicano from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Fomento Económico Mexicano from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.95.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FMX opened at $101.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12-month low of $81.08 and a 12-month high of $123.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $99.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.65. The firm has a market cap of $36.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.68.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.75 billion. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 3.22%. Equities research analysts predict that Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.628 per share. This represents a yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Fomento Económico Mexicano’s previous dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Fomento Económico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.96%.

About Fomento Económico Mexicano

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.