Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,969 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $3,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FDX. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the 4th 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 FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in FedEx by 123.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FDX shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. 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 report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,507.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,507.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FedEx Stock Down 0.5 %

FDX stock traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $260.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,085,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,311,143. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $213.80 and a 52-week high of $291.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23.

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 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 company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. FedEx’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.