FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Stock Position Lowered by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 237,822 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 41,013 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $68,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FDX. Sentry LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,811,748,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,686,738,000 after acquiring an additional 880,894 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $732,040,000 after acquiring an additional 798,084 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $700,291,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in FedEx by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,258,579 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $654,401,000 after purchasing an additional 684,679 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.00.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total value of $4,714,624.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares in the company, valued at $17,634,640.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total value of $4,714,624.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,634,640.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total transaction of $34,711.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,293.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,565 shares of company stock worth $6,662,844. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

FedEx stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $311.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 155,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,922,700. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $267.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.80. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $224.69 and a 1-year high of $313.84. The company has a market cap of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 20.94 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.04%.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.