FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 13,171,586 shares, a decline of 16.6% from the December 31st total of 15,796,191 shares. Approximately 10.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,951,417 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,951,417 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 10.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other FMC news, Director John Mitchell Raines purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.77 per share, for a total transaction of $96,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,805.68. This trade represents a 103.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FMC

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FMC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in FMC by 11.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 5,091 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of FMC by 137.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 12,414 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of FMC by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 45,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 10,018 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of FMC by 180.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of FMC by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 10,056 shares during the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FMC Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FMC traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $15.59. 812,633 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,637,040. FMC has a fifty-two week low of $12.17 and a fifty-two week high of $55.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -3.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

FMC Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is -7.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded FMC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $43.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of FMC from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on FMC from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays downgraded FMC from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $16.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.92.

About FMC

FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company specializing in the development, manufacture and marketing of crop protection products. Its portfolio includes herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and plant nutrition solutions designed to enhance crop yield, quality and sustainability. In addition to core crop protection, FMC delivers solutions for turf management and pest control in urban and industrial environments.

Founded in 1883 as the Bean Spray Pump Company and later known as Food Machinery Corporation, the business adopted the FMC name in 1948 and has since evolved through strategic acquisitions and divestitures.