FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service grew its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 519,935 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,219 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.21% of FedEx worth $131,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDX traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $258.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,451,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,395. 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 firm has a market cap of $63.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23. FedEx Co. has a one year low of $213.80 and a one year high of $291.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $265.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.28.

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

FedEx declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FDX. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

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.