Flputnam Investment Management Co. Cuts Stock Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,697 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of FedEx by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of FedEx by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 5,721 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of FedEx by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 288 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. increased its position in shares of FedEx by 3.2% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of FedEx by 42.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on FDX shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com cut FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Melius upgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $264.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $257.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.05. 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 1-year low of $213.80 and a 1-year high of $291.27. The company has a market cap of $65.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

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

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,507.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.