GAMMA Investing LLC Buys New Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,170 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 749 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 51,306 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $12,979,000 after purchasing an additional 5,188 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in FedEx by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 444,604 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $112,471,000 after buying an additional 7,856 shares during the period. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in FedEx by 572.4% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 77,463 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $19,596,000 after buying an additional 65,942 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on FDX shares. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.33.

FedEx Price Performance

FedEx stock opened at $265.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $213.80 and a 52-week high of $291.27. 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 is $261.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.44.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Announces Dividend

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 $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

About FedEx

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.