FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,310 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FDX. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 123.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 134 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Stock Up 0.6 %

FDX stock opened at $271.67 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $260.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $254.28. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $213.80 and a 12 month high of $291.27. The company has a market cap of $66.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given 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 yield of 1.86%. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total transaction of $102,373.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total transaction of $102,373.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares in the company, valued at $140,507.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

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.