FMC (NYSE:FMC) Cut to “Neutral” at UBS Group

FMC (NYSE:FMC) was downgraded by UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $38.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $66.00. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.58% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FMC. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on FMC from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upgraded shares of FMC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of FMC from $70.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of FMC to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FMC has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.46.

FMC Stock Performance

Shares of FMC stock opened at $35.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.48 and a 200-day moving average of $58.53. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 3.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. FMC has a 1-year low of $34.00 and a 1-year high of $68.72.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. FMC had a net margin of 34.93% and a return on equity of 7.68%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FMC will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at FMC

In other news, EVP Michael Finian Reilly sold 2,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.25, for a total transaction of $163,429.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,107. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,709,485.83. This trade represents a 13.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,491 shares of company stock valued at $433,898 in the last 90 days. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barnett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in FMC during the third quarter valued at $2,265,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in FMC by 18.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 60,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,970,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of FMC by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 227,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,050,000 after purchasing an additional 39,230 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in FMC by 27.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,867,000 after acquiring an additional 9,449 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank of Omaha lifted its holdings in FMC by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 33,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 15,662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

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.