Is it Still Worthy to Keep Your Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) Shares?

Artisan Partners, a high value-added investment management firm, published its ‘Artisan International Value Fund’ fourth quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. A return of 4.38% was recorded by its Investor Class: ARTKX, 4.44% by its Advisor Class: APDKX, and 4.45% by its Institutional Class: APHKX for the fourth quarter of 2021, all outperforming the MSCI EAFE Index that delivered a 2.69% return and the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index that gained 1.82% for the same period. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022.

Artisan International Value Fund, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE: FMS) and discussed its stance on the firm. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA is a Bad Homburg, Germany-based healthcare company with a $19.8 billion market capitalization. FMS delivered a 4.56% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -8.59%. The stock closed at $33.94 per share on February 16, 2022.

Here is what Artisan International Value Fund has to say about Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Fresenius is the world’s largest provider of kidney dialysis products and services. In the US, the company dominates the sale of kidney dialysis equipment and runs an effective duopoly in dialysis services provision. COVID has hurt the company’s business in the form of both higher patient mortality rates and increased costs. Also, some capital allocation and operating errors have reduced profits in what should be a growing, utility-like earnings stream. The share price fell 15% in local currency during 2021. We are in direct dialogue with management and the board regarding resolving some of the company’s issues. Also, the new chairman of the company’s ultimate holding company is demanding better performance. As the treatment of kidney failure remains a growing market globally, the company’s patient base will naturally be restored, and the equipment business will continue growing. Better execution should lead to better financial performance over the next few years.”

Tyler Olson/Shutterstock.com

Our calculations show that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE: FMS) failed to obtain a mark on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. FMS was in 4 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 5 funds in the previous quarter. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE: FMS) delivered a 5.70% return in the past 3 months.

In November 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on FMS in another article. You can find other letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q4 page. 

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.