Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Has $24.77 Million Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,904 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 3,254 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $24,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $388,787,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in FedEx during the third quarter worth $496,611,000. FMR LLC grew its position in FedEx by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,076,619,000 after purchasing an additional 916,555 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in FedEx by 2,602.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 608,210 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $150,775,000 after buying an additional 632,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in FedEx by 144.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,008,037 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $267,135,000 after buying an additional 595,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:FDX opened at $287.88 on Thursday. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $213.80 and a 12 month high of $291.27. 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’s 50 day moving average is $248.74 and its 200 day moving average is $252.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20.

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 the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total value of $1,769,882.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares in the company, valued at $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.07.

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.