Skylands Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Skylands Capital LLC lifted its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,975 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment House LLC grew its position in shares of FedEx by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 41,775 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $10,568,000 after buying an additional 6,005 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,464 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of FedEx by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,349 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,694 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 7,290 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773 in the last 90 days. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Melius Research raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $265.69. The stock had a trading volume of 394,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,040. The firm has a market cap of $65.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $291.27.

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

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. 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.