Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Shares Gap Down to $21.42

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.42, but opened at $19.87. Fresenius Medical Care shares last traded at $19.94, with a volume of 69,024 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Fresenius Medical Care in a report on Saturday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Price Performance

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 cap of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 4.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.437 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 349.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 169.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. 8.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.