Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 937 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx in the third quarter valued at about $3,405,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in FedEx by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,329 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $26,855,000. Persium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $530,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in FedEx by 137.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 227,965 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $64,133,000 after purchasing an additional 132,036 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 related news, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

FedEx Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $258.26 on Tuesday. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $234.45 and a 1 year high of $313.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $274.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.24. The firm has a market cap of $62.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of FedEx from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of FedEx from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.87.

FedEx Company 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.