Luminus Management LLC Raises Position in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Luminus Management LLC boosted its stake in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,521 shares during the quarter. FMC makes up approximately 1.1% of Luminus Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Luminus Management LLC’s holdings in FMC were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FMC. WP Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in FMC by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in FMC by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in FMC by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carol Anthony Davidson purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $37.33 per share, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $223,980. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ronaldo Pereira purchased 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.77 per share, for a total transaction of $200,312.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 48,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,899.49. This trade represents a 12.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

FMC Price Performance

Shares of FMC opened at $36.80 on Monday. FMC Co. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $68.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.80. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.22.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.10. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $791.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $783.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.30%. FMC’s payout ratio is 88.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FMC has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of FMC from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FMC in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Vertical Research upgraded shares of FMC to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho upgraded shares of FMC from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FMC currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.46.

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.