Fresenius Medical Care AG Plans Annual Dividend of $0.44 (NYSE:FMS)

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) declared an annual dividend on Monday, April 15th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.437 per share on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th.

Fresenius Medical Care has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 5.5% per year over the last three years. Fresenius Medical Care has a payout ratio of 32.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Fresenius Medical Care to earn $1.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.8%.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care stock opened at $18.59 on Wednesday. Fresenius Medical Care has a 12 month low of $16.37 and a 12 month high of $27.72. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.48.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,522 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 7,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 74,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,548,000 after buying an additional 73,297 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the 4th quarter valued at about $329,000. 8.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FMS. Morgan Stanley downgraded 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 report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

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.