Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 551,514 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 5,993 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of FedEx worth $155,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in FedEx by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 72.7% during the third quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. purchased a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FDX. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas raised FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on FedEx from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.87.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $256.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $234.45 and a 1-year high of $313.84. The company has a market capitalization of $61.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $275.52 and a 200-day moving average of $280.86.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The firm had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.99 EPS. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Director Amy B. Lane bought 333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,927.98. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This represents a 12.40 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.