Choate Investment Advisors Buys New Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Choate Investment Advisors bought a new stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,007 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE FDX opened at $242.27 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $263.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.21. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $239.50 and a 12 month high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

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

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,927.98. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich purchased 1,000 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction 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. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FDX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $368.00 to $364.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.04.

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.