Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Takes Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 328 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $83,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 11.0% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 133,075 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $35,254,000 after purchasing an additional 13,197 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 2.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 595,122 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $157,660,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skba Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of FedEx by 0.3% during the third quarter. Skba Capital Management LLC now owns 39,320 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $10,417,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $266.99 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.14. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during 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%. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current year.

FedEx announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total transaction of $703,009.50. Following the transaction, 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 this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

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.