Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 1,545 Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,786 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Fresenius Medical Care were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 10,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FMS shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Price Performance

FMS opened at $20.78 on Thursday. Fresenius Medical Care AG has a 52-week low of $16.37 and a 52-week high of $27.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.46.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care AG will post 1.51 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.437 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Fresenius Medical Care’s payout ratio is currently 46.74%.

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.