FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.00.

FMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of FMC from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on FMC from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on FMC in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on FMC from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of FMC from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

FMC Price Performance

Shares of FMC stock opened at $59.09 on Friday. FMC has a 52 week low of $50.03 and a 52 week high of $68.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 5.09, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.38 and its 200-day moving average is $60.62.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. FMC had a net margin of 34.93% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that FMC will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at FMC

In other news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.67, for a total value of $270,245.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,709,485.83. This represents a 13.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FMC

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMC. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in FMC by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 49,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after buying an additional 22,612 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of FMC in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co acquired a new stake in shares of FMC in the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of FMC in the third quarter worth $1,256,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in FMC by 17.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 310,378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,465,000 after purchasing an additional 45,752 shares during the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About FMC

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.