Private Management Group Inc. Decreases Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,950 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 9,245 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $20,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FDX. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in FedEx by 123.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 134 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FDX. Barclays raised their price target on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $271.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,186,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,060,923. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $66.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $213.80 and a 52-week high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.86%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,277.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Company Profile

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.