Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. Wall Street Zen cut Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Stock Performance

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA stock opened at $24.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.84. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a 52-week low of $20.02 and a 52-week high of $27.76.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.8716 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 402.0%. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s payout ratio is 32.11%.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FMS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 14.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 160.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 23,163 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 5,127 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 21.3% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 141.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. 8.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.