Virtu Financial LLC Buys New Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased 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 (SEC). The fund purchased 7,911 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,001,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 29,246 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $7,398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,055 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of FedEx by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $282,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its stake in FedEx by 173.2% in the 4th quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 7,620 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after buying an additional 4,831 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on FedEx from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of FedEx in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.92.

FedEx Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of FDX stock traded down $2.17 on Friday, hitting $246.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,245,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,204,820. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $258.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.38. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $223.24 and a twelve month high of $291.27. The firm has a market cap of $60.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued 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. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.