Sit Investment Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,611 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 7,450 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $12,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A increased its holdings in FedEx by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 7,925 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,365 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 3,400 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc boosted its stake in FedEx by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 8,107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Down 2.8 %

FedEx stock opened at $209.90 on Friday. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $203.90 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 $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.15.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by ($0.05). FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The firm had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,984,589.98. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. The trade was a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of FedEx in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on FedEx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $337.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on FedEx from $323.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $331.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.71.

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.