Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 375,245 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 102,416 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $94,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in FedEx by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 5,721 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in FedEx by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 288 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in FedEx by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in FedEx by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Melius Research raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.33.

FedEx Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE FDX traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $265.84. 958,876 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,517,622. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $262.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.49. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $213.80 and a 12 month high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

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.