Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.00.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “strong sell” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Price Performance

FMS stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $24.03. 311,961 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 561,445. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a 1-year low of $20.02 and a 1-year high of $27.64. The stock has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.47 and a 200-day moving average of $22.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 8.90%. On average, analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.8716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a yield of 402.0%. This is a positive change from Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,939,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,027,000 after acquiring an additional 942,497 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 15,052,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,592,000 after buying an additional 299,986 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 279.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 337,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,637,000 after buying an additional 248,477 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA increased its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 1,136.0% during the 4th quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 249,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,950,000 after buying an additional 229,589 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 650,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,483,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. 8.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Company Profile

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA is the world’s largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases. The company’s primary business activities encompass the operation of dialysis clinics and the manufacture and distribution of dialysis equipment, dialysis machines, dialyzers, consumables and related therapies. Through its global network of clinics, Fresenius Medical Care delivers comprehensive kidney care, including hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatments, patient education and support services.

In its products segment, the company designs and produces dialysis machines, water treatment systems and disposables such as high‐flux dialyzers and bloodlines.