FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Shares Sold by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc lessened its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,329 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 4,784 shares during the quarter. FedEx accounts for about 0.7% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in FedEx were worth $4,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,689,791 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,281,335,000 after buying an additional 67,502 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,042,050,000 after purchasing an additional 314,380 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,699,179 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $465,031,000 after purchasing an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,451,576 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $397,267,000 after purchasing an additional 13,093 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Sentry LLC now owns 1,217,117 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $342,412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX stock opened at $268.49 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.18. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $238.21 and a 1 year high of $313.84.

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

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total value of $713,371.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,984,589.98. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,927.98. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $337.00 to $316.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on FedEx from $311.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on FedEx from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James upped their price target on FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.87.

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.