Northwest Bank & Trust Co Invests $135,000 in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 533 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $135,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in FedEx by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX traded down $2.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $246.43. 1,245,761 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,820. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $258.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.38. The company has a market cap of $60.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $223.24 and a 1 year high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.76 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is an increase from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

FedEx announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of FedEx from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.92.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total transaction of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

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.