Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 368,617 shares changed hands during mid-day 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Fresenius Medical Care from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Up 1.7 %

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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.48. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. As a group, sell-side 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 announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.437 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s payout ratio is currently 45.65%.

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Fresenius Medical Care by 9.0% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 7.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 6.4% during the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. 8.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.