Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,090 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 853 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in FedEx were worth $3,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FedEx stock opened at $247.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $261.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.30. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $239.50 and a 52 week high of $313.84. The company has a market capitalization of $59.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

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

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FDX shares. Raymond James lowered shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. Piper Sandler cut FedEx to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Loop Capital cut FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $365.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on FedEx in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.48.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total transaction of $1,100,271.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at $2,461,510.80. This trade represents a 30.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is 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.