Poplar Forest Capital LLC Trims Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,875 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 33,443 shares during the quarter. FedEx accounts for about 3.2% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $21,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of FedEx by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 133,075 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $35,254,000 after acquiring an additional 13,197 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of FedEx by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 595,122 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $157,660,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Down 2.1 %

FedEx stock traded down $5.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,695,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,297. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $261.03 and its 200 day moving average is $254.36. The company has a market cap of $65.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $213.80 and a 52-week high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

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

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. Corporate insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

FedEx 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.