Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Sees Large Volume Increase

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 368,617 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 426,531 shares.The stock last traded at $19.31 and had previously closed at $18.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FMS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Fresenius Medical Care from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.52 and a 200-day moving average of $19.47.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.437 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s payout ratio is 45.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Comerica Bank bought a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,824,421,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 8.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fresenius Medical Care

Fresenius Medical Care AG provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure.