Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,861,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 241,582 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in FMC were worth $90,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in FMC by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 60,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its holdings in shares of FMC by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 227,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,050,000 after buying an additional 39,230 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha lifted its position in FMC by 85.7% in the third quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 33,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after buying an additional 15,662 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of FMC by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,164,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,602,000 after buying an additional 28,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in FMC by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 164,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,015,000 after buying an additional 14,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

FMC Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:FMC opened at $42.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.81. 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 one year low of $33.80 and a one year high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 9.67%. On average, equities analysts forecast that FMC Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. FMC’s payout ratio is 85.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ronaldo Pereira purchased 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.77 per share, with a total value of $200,312.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 48,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,899.49. This represents a 12.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,107. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FMC shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of FMC from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price (down from $61.00) on shares of FMC in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of FMC in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of FMC from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Vertical Research raised FMC to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.15.

FMC 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.