Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,768 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,929 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $5,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in FedEx by 123.3% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 134 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FedEx stock opened at $266.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $213.80 and a 1 year high of $291.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $259.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.19. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FDX. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.33.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, 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.