Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,214 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $388,787,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $496,611,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,076,619,000 after purchasing an additional 916,555 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in FedEx by 33,890.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 651,597 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $166,972,000 after purchasing an additional 649,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in FedEx by 144.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,008,037 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $267,135,000 after purchasing an additional 595,628 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Stock Down 0.4 %

FedEx stock opened at $266.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 1.26 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $257.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.05. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $213.80 and a twelve month high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on FedEx from $279.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

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.