Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 368,617 shares traded 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Fresenius Medical Care Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.52 and a 200 day moving average of $19.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. This represents a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 77.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,570,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,667,000 after purchasing an additional 683,851 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,738,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 14,252.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 488,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,173,000 after acquiring an additional 484,998 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Fresenius Medical Care by 69.5% in the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 750,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,958,000 after acquiring an additional 307,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 240.0% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 404,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 285,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

Fresenius Medical Care Company Profile

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.