FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,175 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,408 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.07% of FedEx worth $42,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in FedEx by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 52,216 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $13,833,000 after buying an additional 10,799 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in FedEx by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 26,279 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $6,962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its position in FedEx by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,342 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 61,800 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $16,372,000 after buying an additional 18,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE FDX traded down $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $260.65. 1,085,243 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,311,143. The company has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $263.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $213.80 and a twelve month high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

FedEx announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates through FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services segments. The FedEx Express segment offers express transportation, small-package ground delivery, and freight transportation services; and time-critical transportation services.