Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $3.54 Million in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,000 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,542,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $388,787,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 3rd quarter worth about $496,611,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 29.1% in the 3rd 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in FedEx by 33,890.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 651,597 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $166,972,000 after purchasing an additional 649,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in FedEx by 144.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Melius raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on shares of FedEx from $330.00 to $334.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,614 shares in the company, valued at $23,542,999.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. 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 ninety days. 8.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX opened at $267.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $256.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.04. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $291.27. The firm has a market cap of $65.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors 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 1.88%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.